As of December 28, 2024, flights from Baku to five Russian cities – Mineralnye Vody, Sochi, Volgograd, Ufa and Samara have been suspended. This decision, taken by the Azerbaijani State Civil Aviation Authority, follows the preliminary results of the investigation into the recent accident of Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) flight J2-8243 from Baku to Grozny.
“It should be noted that on December 25, AZAL decided to suspend flights from Baku to Grozny and Makhachkala. For safety reasons, a decision was made to suspend flights of other airlines to the mentioned destinations, including Grozny and Makhachkala.
“Passengers of AZAL flights to and from selected cities in Russia, who cannot use the airline’s services due to the current situation, have the opportunity to receive a full refund without penalties or rebook their tickets.”
A Russian surface-to-air missile caused the Azerbaijan Airlines plane to crash in Aktau on Wednesday, Azerbaijani government sources confirmed to Euronews on Thursday. According to her, the plane was hit by a missile launched from the Pantsir-S air defense system from the Norsky V district Chechnya.
Earlier, AZAL reported that the bodies of passengers and crew members who lost their lives in the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash near Aktau, Kazakhstan, will be delivered to Azerbaijan in the near future.
“At the same time, the infected passengers will be transported to Azerbaijan on a special AZAL flight, on condition of obtaining their health permits, based on medical assessments. The relevant state agencies of both Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan are taking necessary measures in this regard.
On 25 December 2024, Azerbaijan Airlines J2-8243, an Embraer 190 en route from Baku to Grozny, crashed near Aktau, Kazakhstan. Tragically, 38 of the 67 people on board died, including the two pilots. The New York Post says the remaining 29 passengers survived, some with serious injuries.
