There have been multiple aviation crashes and close calls in 2024, the most recent being a Jeju Air flight 7C2216 on 29 December on a flight from the Thai capital Bangkok. The plane was carrying 181 people when it crashed upon landing at Muan International Airport in South Korea, with only two survivors among the crew, says Republic World.

The Kremlin has refused to comment, but Russia's civil aviation agency said the situation in Chechnya was "very complicated" at the time. The White House has said the flight may have been hit by missiles fired by a Russian air-defence system. A minister ...