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BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 27. An Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) flight en route from Baku to Mineralnye Vody returned to its departure airport, Trend reports.
This is confirmed by data from the Flightradar24 service.
Later, AZAL confirmed the return.
"The captain of Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) flight J2-8717 from Baku to Mineralnye Vody returned without leaving Baku's airspace immediately after takeoff, upon receiving a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) about the closure of the airspace over Makhachkala.
The plane successfully landed at Heydar Aliyev International Airport at 10:13 local time.
Further details on flights to Russia will be announced shortly," the airline's statement reads.
To note, the passenger plane Embraer 190 belonging to AZAL, which was on the Baku-Grozny route, crashed 3 kilometers from Aktau airport on December 25.
A total of 67 people (62 passengers and 5 crew members) were on board the plane.
Following the crash of the passenger plane, 27 people were admitted to the hospital. Of them, 15 people are citizens of the Republic of Azerbaijan, 8 of the Russian Federation, and 3 of the Kyrgyz Republic. The identity of one person has not yet been established.
Both pilots of the crew as well as the flight attendant were dead; two crew members survived.
On December 26, 14 victims and the bodies of four dead were transported to Azerbaijan.
