AZAL Azerbaijan Airlines (J2, Baku Heydar Aliev International) has suspended its scheduled services from Baku Heydar Aliev International to Grozny and Makhachkala after an E190 flying to the former destination diverted to Aktau in Kazakhstan and crashed. The airline told the state press agency Azertag that the routes would be on pause until the investigation is concluded.

The carrier is scheduled to operate the Grozny route 2x weekly with E190s, while the Makhachkala service has been operating 4x weekly with A319-100 and A320-200 aircraft. The two cities - the capitals of Chechnya and Dagestan, respectively - are AZAL's only destinations in Russia's North Caucasian Federal District. The carrier will continue flying to its 12 other destinations in the country.

E190 4K-AZ65 (msn 19000630), a 16.7-year-old aircraft owned by the airline, crashed in the morning of December 25, 2024, near Aktau airport. Initial reports confirmed by the local authorities revealed that 29 out of 67 persons on board survived the crash. Flightradar24 ADS-B data shows the aircraft erratically gaining and losing altitude for at least 20 minutes before the crash. While the accident remains under investigation, early photos seen by ch-aviation show exterior hull damage.