El Al to halt all flights to Moscow after it shot down an Azeri plane

El Al announced today (Monday) that following an ongoing dialogue with Russian authorities and a "comprehensive and overall" situational assessment, El Al is cancelling all flights to Moscow until the end of March.

This decision comes following the accidental shooting down of an Azeri plane en route from Azerbaijan to Grozny by Russian anti-aircraft ordnance, which was trying to shoot down Ukrainian drones.

The plane was denied permission to make an emergency landing in Russian airports and had to instead try to land in Kazakhstan. 29 people survived the crash, and the remainder perished.

Azeri President Ilham Aliyev said that in order to make amends, Russia must admit not only responsibility but guilt, pay compensation, and prosecute those responsible for damaging the plane so badly it crashed.