El Al halts Tel Aviv-Moscow flights amid airspace concerns
El Al, Israel's flagship carrier, has suspended all flights from Tel Aviv to Moscow. This decision follows the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines aircraft in Kazakhstan and reports that a Russian air defense system shot it down.
El Al has suspended all flights from Tel Aviv to Moscow due to "changes in Russian airspace." According to the Times of Israel, the airline assured that it would "re-evaluate the situation" within the week.
During the next evaluation, El Al will decide "whether the route will be resumed" and will update passengers about the situation's development.
The decision by the Israeli carrier is based on preliminary assessments indicating that the Azerbaijan Airlines aircraft, which crashed on Wednesday in Kazakhstan, was shot down by a Russian air defense system.
Increasing signs of Russia's involvement
This is claimed by, among others, Azerbaijani government officials with whom a Euronews reporter spoke. A U.S. official quoted by the Financial Times shares a similar opinion. He stated that "there are early indications" suggesting that the Azerbaijani passenger plane that crashed on Wednesday "may have been hit by a Russian anti-aircraft system." He remarked that it would underscore "Moscow's reckless actions."
The Azerbaijan Airlines plane was flying from Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, to Grozny in Chechnya, southern Russia, when it veered off course and crashed in Kazakhstan. The crash resulted in 38 fatalities, with 29 survivors. The majority of passengers on the Embraer 190 were Azerbaijani citizens. There were also 16 Russians and several citizens of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan on board.
