After Azerbaijan Plane Crash, Some Chinese Flights Avoid Southern Russian Airspace.

On December 25th, an Azerbaijan Airlines flight heading to Grozny in southern Russia was shot down by the Russian air defense system and eventually crashed in western Kazakhstan. As a result of this incident, some Chinese airlines have been avoiding flying over the southern Russian airspace.

According to a report by the South China Morning Post on January 2nd, flights between Urumqi and Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, have been rerouted around the southwest region of Dagestan in Russia since the Azerbaijan Airlines crash on Christmas Day, as tracked by Flightradar24.

Data shows that since December 26th, flights operated by China Southern Airlines and Air China have been flying through Azerbaijani airspace into Georgia after crossing the Caspian Sea, and then returning along the same route.

Flights from Budapest, Hungary to Guangzhou, China operated by China Southern Airlines have also seen changes in their routes.

In the past week, China Southern Airlines’ planes have not been flying over Dagestan in Russia on their way to Hungary after crossing the Caspian Sea; instead, they have been flying over western Russia and then heading south to Budapest. This route was occasionally used before the crash.

In general, most Chinese airlines continue to use their original routes crossing Russian airspace, especially for flights to Western Europe and Scandinavia.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, China has been one of the few countries still using Russian airspace for civil aviation, leading to tensions between Beijing and Western aviation authorities. The use of Russian airspace can help save costs, giving a competitive advantage, which has sparked discontent among European and American airlines.

Caixin was the first to report that after the Azerbaijan Airlines crash that resulted in 38 fatalities, Chinese airlines started to alter their flight paths.

Reportedly, China Southern Airlines flight CZ6039 was the first to implement a route diversion, completely avoiding Russian airspace in its route on December 30, 2024, and instead flying south directly from Azerbaijan into Georgia. Air China flight CA781 also underwent a route diversion on the morning of January 2, 2025, completely bypassing Russian airspace and flying over Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Azerbaijan. Before the Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243 crash, some Chinese flights would pass through the Dagestan region in southern Russia to enter Georgia.

The Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243 was originally destined for Grozny in Russia but was diverted several hundred kilometers off course before ultimately crashing near the Kazakh city of Aktau across the Caspian Sea.

On December 28th, Russian President Vladimir Putin issued an apology to the President of Azerbaijan for the “tragic event” that occurred in Russian airspace. He stated that the incident took place when a Ukrainian drone was repelled by the Russian air defense system.