Azerbaijan Airlines has suspended flights to eight more Russian airports after a flight carrying passengers from the Azerbaijani capital Baku to Grozny in Russia crashed “due to physical and technical external interference,” the airline announced.
Reportedly a Russian anti-aircraft missile could have been responsible for the disaster.
The airline noted in a post on X that flights from Baku to eight Russian airports had been suspended as of December 28. The announcement comes in addition to the previous suspension of flights between Baku and two other Russian airports.
“This decision, made in agreement with the State Civil Aviation Authority of Azerbaijan, is based on the preliminary results of the investigation into the crash of the Embraer 190 aircraft on the Baku-Grozny flight J2-8243 of Azerbaijan Airlines due to physical and technical external circumstances “intervention and takes into account potential risks for flight safety,” the airline explained in the X article.
Evidence is collected at the crash site of an Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) passenger plane near Aktau, Kazakhstan, on December 27, 2024. (Meiramgul Kussainova/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“It should be noted that on December 25, AZAL decided to suspend flights from Baku to Grozny and Makhachkala,” the post said.
The airline had previously reported that there were 62 passengers and five crew members on board the flight. There were reportedly only 29 survivors.
Preliminary results of Azerbaijan’s investigation into the fatal incident indicate that the plane was hit by a Russian anti-aircraft missile or shrapnel from such a missile, people briefed on the investigation noted Wall Street Journal.
Emergency specialists work at the crash site of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane near the western Kazakh city of Aktau on Dec. 25, 2024. (ISSA TAZHENBAYEV/AFP via Getty Images)
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Information and Press Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry for comment.
A source familiar with the Azerbaijan investigation said Reuters The preliminary results indicate that the plane was hit by a Russian Pantsir-S air defense system – electronic warfare systems that disabled communications as the plane approached Grozny, the source said.
Emergency specialists work at the crash site of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane near the western Kazakh city of Aktau on Dec. 25, 2024. (ISSA TAZHENBAYEV/AFP via Getty Images)
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“No one is saying it was done on purpose. However, taking into account the established facts, Baku expects the Russian side to confess to shooting down the Azerbaijani plane,” the source noted, according to Reuters.
