El Al halts Moscow flights amid Russian missile concerns
El Al, the national airline of Israel, has announced the suspension of all flights from Tel Aviv to Moscow. This decision is connected to the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines aircraft in Kazakhstan, with reports suggesting it was shot down by a Russian air defence system.
El Al stated that flights from Tel Aviv to Moscow are suspended due to "changes in Russian airspace." The airline confirmed it would "re-evaluate the situation" within the week, as reported by the Times of Israel.
During the next evaluation, El Al will decide "whether the route will be resumed" and will update passengers about developments.
The decision by the Israeli airline follows preliminary assessments indicating that the Azerbaijan Airlines aircraft, which crashed on Wednesday in Kazakhstan, was shot down by a Russian air defence system.
Increasing signs of Russia's involvement
This is claimed by, among others, Azerbaijani government officials who were spoken to by a Euronews reporter. A U.S. official quoted by the "Financial Times" expressed a similar view, stating that "there are early indications" suggesting the Azerbaijani passenger plane, which crashed on Wednesday, "may have been hit by a Russian anti-aircraft system." He noted that it would highlight "Moscow's reckless actions."
The Azerbaijan Airlines plane was travelling 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. On board were also 16 Russians and several citizens of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
