Azerbaijan announces plans to resume direct flights with Russia

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov stated that the resumption of some direct flights between Azerbaijan and Russia, suspended after the crash of an AZAL airline passenger plane in December 2024, is planned in the near future.

“Also in the near future, the restoration of direct flights on a number of routes <…>, where restrictions were imposed after the well-known tragic incident in December 2024 with our civilian aircraft,” he said at a joint press conference following negotiations with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow.

The Embraer 190 passenger plane of Azerbaijan Airlines, operating a flight from Baku to Grozny, crashed on December 25, 2024, near the city of Aktau. There were 67 people on board: 62 passengers and 5 crew members, citizens of Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Thirty-eight people died. In April 2026, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported that Moscow and Baku had reached a settlement on the consequences, including compensation payments, due to the crash of the AZAL plane after an unintentional action by air defense in Russian airspace.

Source: TASS