Israel’s flagship carrier, EL AL, has extended the suspension of flights from Tel Aviv to Moscow until the end of March, according to the news portal Times of Israel. The article states: “After a comprehensive assessment of the situation, EL AL has decided to cancel its entire flight operation on the Tel Aviv-Moscow route until the end of the winter flight plan. The decision comes after a continuous dialogue with the authorities to understand the situation.”
EL AL is Israel’s national airline, and Moscow is a popular destination for thousands of Israeli tourists, as the airline writes. The flights were previously operated from Domodedovo Airport.
The flights were suspended on December 26 for a week due to “events in the Russian airspace.”
A day earlier, on December 25, an Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) plane crashed on the Baku-Grozyin flight in Kazakhstan, killing 38 of the 67 people on board, including seven Russians. Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, on December 28, saying that the “tragic event in Russian airspace occurred.” He explained that the plane was trying to land during a Ukrainian drone attack in Chechnya, where Russian air defense systems were in use.
The airline cited “physical and technical external interference” as the cause. Azerbaijan demanded that Russia “take responsibility” punish the responsible, and pay compensation. Aliyev stated that the plane lost control due to electronic warfare and was damaged by ground fire. He is convinced that it was not an intentional attack and the plane was accidentally shot down.
The Kremlin is urging a wait for the results of the investigations.