EASA advised carriers to avoid five Russian regions in the south and west of the country, including Moscow and St. Petersberg, the two biggest cities. The new safety bulletin is aimed at non-European carriers, as most of those within Europe suspended Russian overflights in 2022.
Azerbaijan Airlines halted flights to two cities in southern Russia after a passenger plane to the area was diverted across the Caspian Sea and crashed near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan, killing dozens. Azerbaijan’s president has said the plane was accidentally shot down by Russia.
Israeli airline El Al has canceled flights between Tel Aviv and Moscow route through March, while FlyDubai in the United Arab Emirates extended suspensions to two Russian cities until late January, according to its website.
In 2024, commercial aviation suffered its deadliest year since 2018 after the Azerbaijan Air crash and Jeju Air Co. disaster in South Korea drove up the toll in late December. In the Jeju accident, all but two of the 181 people on board died.
Photograph: Emergency specialists work at the crash site of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet near Aktau, Kazakhstan, on Dec. 25, 2024. Photo credit: Issa Tazhenbayev/AFP/Getty Images
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