Serbian President Vučić's flight to Moscow resumes after forced landing in Baku updated

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has resumed his journey to Moscow from Baku, following an unscheduled landing in the Azerbaijani capital due to complications in Russian airspace.

As reported by the Serbian magazine Vreme, “The plane on which President Vučić was travelling to Moscow to take part in the Victory Day celebrations has resumed its journey from Baku to the Russian capital.”

Vučić had originally been en route to Moscow to attend the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of Victory Day. However, according to earlier Serbian media reports, the aircraft was forced to land in Baku due to active air defence operations in Russian airspace, which disrupted the original flight path.

The situation temporarily left Vučić waiting at the airport in Baku while clearance for continued travel was coordinated. Serbian news agency Tanjug confirmed earlier that the aircraft was grounded as it awaited permission to proceed to Russia.

16:30

The aircraft carrying Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić to Moscow was forced to make an emergency landing in Baku after encountering closed airspace over Russia, according to reports from Serbian media, cited by Caliber.Az.

President Vučić was en route to the Russian capital to take part in Victory Day celebrations on May 9 when his plane was unexpectedly diverted. Sources indicated that the closure of Russian airspace rendered it impossible for the aircraft to continue toward Moscow, prompting the diversion to the Azerbaijani capital.

Serbian media described the unscheduled stop as a precautionary measure after overflight permissions were suddenly affected.

Earlier the same day, Azerbaijan's leading carrier, Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL), announced delays to its Moscow-bound flights J2-181 (to Domodedovo Airport) and J2-807 (to Vnukovo Airport) for the same reason. AZAL cited the closure of Russian airspace at the point of destination as the cause of the disruption.

By Tamilla Hasanova