EU advises airlines not to fly to Russian cities: Moscow, Petersburg, and beyond

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has issued a new Conflict Zone Information Bulletin advising aviation operators to avoid flights in the airspace of the Russian Federation west of the 60th meridian east longitude at all altitudes and flight levels. This includes airspace over the regions of:

• Moscow;
• Rostov-on-Don;
• St. Petersburg;
• Yekaterinburg;
• Samara.

The recommendation is linked to Russia's ongoing illegal invasion of Ukraine and the potential safety risks for flights in the affected regions. EASA continues to monitor the situation closely to assess any changes in the threat and risk levels.

EASA has reminded operators that most incidents occurred in airspace not closed by Russia during drone attacks or the activation of air defense systems.

“This poses a high risk to flight operations, as demonstrated by the incident involving Azerbaijan Airlines flight 8243 on 25 December 2024.In terms of airspace management, the State concerned has not demonstrated full proficiency to address existing airspace risks by implementing an efficient and proactive approach to the airspace deconfliction,” the agency emphasized.

Aviation operators are advised to adhere to this recommendation and avoid flights in the specified airspace until further notice.

Plane crash in Kazakhstan

On December 25, an Embraer 190 aircraft crashed at the airport in the Kazakh city of Akau, killing 38 people.

The plane had attempted to land three times in Grozny, Chechnya, but was unable to do so and was redirected to Kazakhstan.

Following the crash, Russia proposed various explanations for the tragedy, denying that the cause was linked to the actions of Russian air defense systems. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stated at the time that the aircraft was damaged by ground fire.

He later reiterated that the responsibility for the Embraer 190 passenger plane crash lay with Russian authorities.