Flydubai has announced the suspension of flights from Dubai to the southern Russian airports of Sochi and Mineralnie Vody, effective Friday.
The carrier attributed the suspension to "technical reasons," with flights to Sochi suspended until January 2 and to Mineralnie Vody until January 3.
The move follows the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane in Kazakhstan, which claimed the lives of 38 people and left 29 survivors in critical condition.
Azerbaijan Airlines’ plane crash
On Christmas Day, an Embraer 190 aircraft operated by Azerbaijan Airlines, en route from Baku to Grozny in southern Russia, crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau. The plane had deviated from its flight path, crossing the Caspian Sea before going off course. The jet, which carried 67 people, was supposed to land in Grozny but instead plunged into a remote area outside Aktau.
Of the 67 passengers and crew, 38 tragically died, including 37 Azerbaijani nationals, six Kazakhs, three Kyrgyzstanis, and 16 Russians. The Kazakh Ministry of Emergency Situations reported that 29 survivors were rescued from the wreckage, and were immediately hospitalised. The accident site, near the oil-rich hub of Aktau, prompted an extensive rescue operation involving over 150 emergency workers.
Mourning and investigation underway
In response to the disaster, Azerbaijan declared Thursday a national day of mourning, with President Ilham Aliyev offering condolences and pledging urgent action to investigate the cause.
The plane's black box, which records critical flight data, has been recovered, and Kazakh authorities have launched a probe into the crash's cause.
While initial speculation suggested the aircraft flew through a flock of birds, Azerbaijan Airlines later retracted this statement. Investigations into all possible causes are ongoing.
Suspension of flights to Russia
Flydubai's decision to suspend its flights to Sochi and Mineralnie Vody is part of the ripple effect caused by the crash. Several airlines, including Kazakhstan's Qazaq Air, Israel's El Al, and Azerbaijan Airlines, have also suspended flights to certain regions of Russia in the wake of the tragic event.
Flydubai stated that the suspension of services was a precautionary measure following the incident and is expected to remain in effect until early January.