Effective 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 Azerbaijan State Civil Aviation Authority, follows the preliminary findings of an investigation into the recent crash 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 has been made to suspend flights of other airlines to the mentioned destinations, including Grozny and Makhachkala,” says a LinkedIn post.

“Passengers of AZAL flights to and from the specified cities in Russia, who are unable to use the airline’s services due to the current situation, have the opportunity to receive a full refund without penalties or rebook their tickets”.

Azerbaijani government sources confirmed to Euronews on Thursday that a Russian surface-to-air missile caused the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash in Aktau on Wednesday. According to it, the plane was hit by a missile fired from a Pantsir-S air defence system from the Naursky district of Chechnya.

Earlier, AZAL shared that the bodies of passengers and crew members who lost their lives in the crash of the Azerbaijan Airlines aircraft near Aktau, Kazakhstan, will be delivered to Azerbaijan in the near future.

“At the same time, injured passengers will be transported to Azerbaijan on a special AZAL flight, provided their health permits, based on medical assessments. Relevant state agencies of both Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan are taking the necessary measures in this regard”.

On December 25, 2024, Azerbaijan Airlines Flight J2-8243, an Embraer 190 aircraft en route from Baku to Grozny, crashed near Aktau, Kazakhstan. Tragically, 38 of the 67 people on board lost their lives, including both pilots. The remaining 29 passengers survived, some with serious injuries, says the New York Post.