Dec. 26 (UPI) — All four of Moscow’s airports — and including another one about 100 miles southwest of the Russian capital — were temporarily shut down for undisclosed security concerns, authorities said.
Civil aircraft flights at Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, Vnukovo and Zhukovsky airports were all restricted, according to the country’s aviation authority Rosaviatsia. Kaluga Airport, outside of Moscow, was also shuttered.
“[The airports] temporarily not accepting or sending flights,” Rosaviatsia said, according to NBC News. “To ensure the safety of civil aircraft flights, temporary restrictions have been introduced on the operations.”
The announcement of the closure comes a day after an Azerbaijani Airlines passenger flight crashed, killing 38 people. Russian officials said they are investigating the incident.
There is speculation that Russian air defenses may have played a role in the crash because Chechnya was under attack by drones when the airliner approached its destination of Grozny.
There was no mention of the airport closures on the English version of the state-run media news outlet TASS as of Thursday afternoon.
