Azerbaijan Airlines halts flights to 7 Russian cities after deadly crash

Azerbaijan Airlines said it was suspending flights to seven Russian cities, Russian media reported, after one of its planes crashed in Kazakhstan on Wednesday during a flight to Grozny, in Russia's Chechnya.

Russia's Interfax news agency reported on Friday that Azerbaijan Airlines would continue running flights to six major Russian cities, including Moscow and St Petersburg.

The Azerbaijan Airlines flight was traveling from the Azerbaijani capital of Baku to Grozny in Russia’s Chechen Republic on Wednesday when it crashed 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) from Aktau, located on the Caspian Sea coast, with 67 people onboard.

Kazakh officials said 38 people were killed in the crash while 29 survived.

Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan both launched investigations into the accident.

On Thursday, senior Azerbaijani officials confirmed to Anadolu that the crash was caused by a Russian missile system.

But Russia's civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, maintained that the crash was likely caused by a bird strike which forced the aircraft to divert to Aktau. The plane had departed Baku for Grozny but veered off course over the Caspian Sea before the crash.

Kazakh authorities and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev called for restraint in speculation, noting that bad weather may have played a role in the flight's diversion.

The crash occurred amid heightened activity of Russian air defenses targeting Ukrainian drones in the region. Public flight data shows GPS jamming in the area, further fueling questions. However, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov reiterated that conclusions must await the official investigation.