One plane diverted to alternate airfield due to third airport closure in Grozny in a day
Grozny airport suspended the arrival and departure of aircraft three times today for security reasons. One aircraft heading to Chechnya was forced to land at an alternate airfield.
As "Kavkazsky Uzel" reported, today at the airports of Vladikavkaz and Grozny, restrictions were introduced on the arrival and departure of aircraft. The head of North Ossetia Sergey Menyailo reported that a threat of drone attack had arisen in North Ossetia and the "Carpet" plan had been introduced. This morning, restrictions on the arrival and departure of aircraft were lifted at the airports of Vladikavkaz and Grozny.
Restrictions on the operation of the airport in Grozny were introduced twice more today. The press secretary of the Federal Air Transport Agency, Artem Korenyako, reported on the introduction of restrictions at the airports of Vladikavkaz and Grozny at 10:05 Moscow time. The restrictions were lifted at 11:00.
After this, restrictions were once again introduced at the Grozny airport "to ensure flight safety", a representative of the Federal Air Transport Agency reported them at 11:41 Moscow time.
Permission to resume flights became known at 14:45 Moscow time. "During the period of restrictions, one plane "departed" for an alternate airfield, flying to the capital of the Chechen Republic," Korenyako wrote on his Telegram channel.
The online board of the Grozny airport and the news section of the site by 15.54 Moscow time did not contain information about which plane had departed for an alternate airfield, where it landed, or how passengers would get to Grozny.
On December 25, 2024, an Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) Embraer-190 plane flying from Baku to Grozny crashed near Aktau in western Kazakhstan. There were 62 passengers and five crew members on board, only 29 people survived. The abnormal situation on board coincided with the drone attack on Grozny, and traces of damage on the plane's skin may indicate an explosion inside or outside, Russian experts said. The "Caucasian Knot" prepared a report "Air crash of the Baku-Grozny flight".
On February 4, the Kazakh Ministry of Transport published a preliminary report on the disaster, indicating that the plane had received damage even before the crash, some of it had a regular rectangular shape, and "unknown objects" were found inside. The Azerbaijani Ministry of Transport said that the plane was damaged in Russian airspace as a result of external impact, and Operation Carpet was announced at the Grozny airport after the plane had been damaged. In its preliminary report on the Baku-Grozny flight crash, the Kazakh side did not provide any clear conclusions about the causes of the crash, and the Azerbaijani Ministry of Transport also commented on the report in an overly delicate manner, analysts indicated.
The order to shoot down the Azerbaijan Airlines plane flying from Baku to Grozny on December 25, 2024, was given by Major General Alexander Tolopilo, who was promoted after the crash, claims the Azerbaijani publication Minval. Russian journalists partially confirmed the publication's data.
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