Utair Boeing 737 plane makes emergency landing in Moscow

RUSSIAN airline Utair made an emergency landing at Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport on Tuesday (Jan 7), Russia’s RIA news agency reported.

The Boeing 737 plane with 173 passengers on board was flying from St Petersburg in Russia to Samarkand in Uzbekistan and landed safely, RIA reported.

Utair said the emergency landing was due to a stabiliser malfunction, Russia’s TASS news agency reported.

Utair and Vnukovo airport did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.

RIA cited the airline as saying all passengers and crew were unharmed.

Russia currently does not have enough planes to meet demand for air travel, which is rising as Moscow’s war effort fuels economic growth, driving up wages and people’s propensity to spend.

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Western sanctions over Moscow’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine have cut off the supply of planes and parts, which domestic production has been unable to replace. REUTERS