Russia bans passenger aircraft from Syrian air space after attack
Russia is banning all of its civilian aircraft from flying through Syrian air space after one of its passenger planes was threatened on Monday.
Russia is banning all of its civilian aircraft from flying through Syrian air space after one of its passenger planes was threatened on Monday.
The federal agency Rosaviation said the ban on flights over Syria will remain until further notice.
"The federal air transport agency believes that in this situation commercial interests cannot prevail over the safety of people who use the services of Russian airlines," it said in a statement.
Two missiles were fired at a Russian plane carrying at least 159 passengers as it flew over Syrian territory on its way from the Egyptian resort of Sharm-el-Sheikh to the Russian city of Kazan, the Interfax News Agency reported.
More from GlobalPost: Russian passenger plane attacked over Syria
A statement on the Russian tourism ministry's website additionally admits that there were "signs of war activity which, in the crew's opinion, threatened the safety of the plane."
The pilots were able to maneuver the plane and there were no injuries.
The Russian foreign ministry said it had asked the Syrian government to provide a full explanation of the incident.