Grozny airport closed, UTair transfers flights to Vladikavkaz
A "Carpet" plan has been introduced at the Severny International Airport in Grozny, meaning that arrivals and departures there are temporarily limited. This was reported to Interfax by the airport's general director, Alvi Shakhgiriev.
However, Shakhgiriev did not specify for how long the Grozny airport is closed. Meanwhile, UTair Airlines is sending out notifications to passengers who bought tickets, including for the end of January 2025, about the transfer of all flights from Grozny and back to Vladikavkaz.
As a reminder, the airport of the Chechen capital served flights to the following destinations within the Russian Federation: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Sochi, Surgut, Kazan, as well as five international ones: Istanbul, Aktau, Baku, Bishkek, Tehran.
Rosaviatsia admitted that before the plane crashed, the Carpet plan was also introduced in the capital of Chechnya due to the danger of drones. The closed skies regime for all aircraft was announced at 5:08 Moscow time.
"The commander of the Azerbaijani plane was offered other airports after landing attempts in Grozny, but he decided to go to Aktau. The situation near Grozny at the time of the plane crash was difficult, the Carpet plan was introduced due to attacks by Ukrainian drones. The pilots tried to land the plane in Chechnya twice," said Rosaviatsia head Yadrov.
At the same time, Euronews voices a different version of events. Citing its own sources, the European TV channel writes that the damaged plane was not allowed to land at any of the Russian airports, despite the requests of the pilots. Instead, an order was given to fly in the direction of Aktau across the Caspian Sea.
Earlier, the head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Yermak, said that Russia should answer for the strike on the Azerbaijani plane. Azerbaijan is also demanding a public apology from Russia, as reported by a local publication citing a source in the country's presidential administration.
It is also reported that Azerbaijan Airlines named physical and technical external impact as the preliminary cause of the plane crash. The airline suspended flights from Baku to Grozny and Makhachkala, as well as to Mineralnye Vody, Sochi, Volgograd, Ufa and Samara until the final investigation into the causes of the Embraer passenger plane crash is completed due to the risk to flight safety.
