Russia cancels some flights to Azerbaijan

Russian IrAero, Ural Airlines, and UTair airlines have canceled flights to Azerbaijan from Ufa, Samara, Vladikavkaz, Saratov, Nizhny Novgorod, and Sochi.

UTair has canceled its flights to Baku from Ufa and Samara. Passengers have already started receiving SMS notifications about the cancellations. While the flights are still listed in the booking system, tickets cannot be purchased for them at least until the end of January, Caliber.Az reports via local media.

At the same time, UTair flights to Baku from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Tyumen, and Surgut remain unaffected. IrAero has removed its flights to Baku from Vladikavkaz, Saratov, and Nizhny Novgorod from the schedule, with tickets for these routes completely disappearing from the booking system.

However, IrAero flights from Moscow, Kazan, Perm, Novosibirsk, and Krasnoyarsk to Baku are still available. Ural Airlines has suspended its flights from Sochi, but flights to Baku from Moscow and Yekaterinburg remain on sale. The Azerbaijani State Civil Aviation Authority has decided to suspend flights to eight Russian cities, namely, Mineralnye Vody, Sochi, Volgograd, Ufa, Samara, Saratov, Nizhny Novgorod, and Vladikavkaz starting from December 28, 2024, until the final investigation into the AZAL plane crash is completed. Flight restrictions to Grozny and Makhachkala have been in place since December 25. 

This decision applies to all airlines operating on these routes. The crash occurred on December 25, when an Embraer aircraft operated by Azerbaijan Airlines, en route from Baku to Grozny, tragically crashed near Aktau. The plane was carrying 67 people, including 37 Azerbaijanis, 16 Russians, 6 Kazakhs, and 3 Kyrgyz nationals. Sadly, 38 people lost their lives in the crash, with 29 survivors.

By Naila Huseynova