Russia’s aviation authority announced on Thursday the temporary closure of five airports, including all four Moscow airports and one in Kaluga, located 160km southwest of the capital.
The aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia did not provide a reason for the closures.
In a statement, Rosaviatsia said: “Aircraft crews, air traffic controllers and airport services are taking all necessary measures to ensure flight safety.”
The statement comes amid reports a Russian missile defence system may have been responsible for an Azerbaijani Airlines plane crash yesterday that killed 38 people.
General view of Moscow’s Vnukovo International Airport
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Nato on Thursday called for a full investigation into the cause of the crash.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and victims of Azerbaijan Airlines flight J28243,” Nato spokesperson Farah Dakhlallah said in a post on the platform X.
“We wish those injured in the crash a speedy recovery and call for a full investigation.”
The flight was diverted from an area of Russia that Moscow has recently defended against Ukrainian drone attacks.
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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed on Thursday that Russia was investigating the incident.
The Embraer EMBR3.SA passenger jet crashed near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan after flying hundreds of miles off its scheduled route from Azerbaijan to Russia to crash on the opposite shore of the Caspian Sea.
Officials did not immediately explain why it had crossed the sea, but the crash came after Ukrainian drone strikes this month hit the Chechnya region of southern Russia. The nearest Russian airport on the plane’s flight path was closed on Wednesday morning.
Kyiv has not acknowledged strikes this month on the Chechen city of Grozny, where the flight was headed.
Aftermath of Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash
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Impact site of Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash
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Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev said according to information he had received, the plane changed course due to poor weather, but he added the cause of the crash was unknown and must be fully investigated.
“This is a great tragedy that has become a tremendous sorrow for the Azerbaijani people,” he said.
Video of the crash showed the plane descending rapidly before bursting into flames as it hit the seashore, and thick black smoke then rising. Bloodied and bruised passengers could be seen stumbling from a piece of the fuselage that had remained intact.
Twenty-nine survivors received hospital treatment.
Russia’s aviation watchdog confirmed just before 2.30pm (GMT) that all four Moscow airports had resumed work.