Israel's flag carrier El Al said it had suspended all flights from Tel Aviv to Moscow, citing “changes in Russian airspace.” In a statement, the airline said it would “reassess the situation” within a week. The decision is related to reports that the plane in Kazakhstan was shot down by a Russian missile.
The decision of the Israeli carrier is the result of preliminary assessments showing that the Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed yesterday in Kazakhstanwas shot down by a Russian air defense system.
During the next assessment, El Al Israel Airlines will decide “whether the route will resume” and send passengers an update on the development.
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El Al Israel Airlines planesReuters
Plane crash in Kazakhstan
Embraer 190 passenger plane, flying from Baku Azerbaijan to the capital of Chechnya, Grozny, crashed on Wednesday morning near the city of Aktau on the Kazakh coast of the Caspian Sea. 38 of the 67 people on board the plane died in the disaster.
On Wednesday evening, the preliminary version of events was reported that due to thick fog over Grozny, the plane was to be redirected to an alternate airport in the capital of Russian Dagestan, Makhachkala, but the machine – as the Russian aviation authority Rosaviatsya reported at the time – most likely collided with a flock of birds, which caused there was a failure of the control system.
On Thursday, the media, citing sources familiar with the investigation, reported that the plane was shot down by a Russian air defense system.
Main photo source: Reuters