China's largest airline has unexpectedly canceled flights to Moscow.

The Chinese airline China Southern, which is the largest carrier in China, has suspended direct flights on the Moscow – Beijing route from January 20 to March 30.

According to the report from the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR), referenced by The Moscow Times.

As per the organization's data, flight CZ342 was supposed to operate daily, but reservations on the airline's website are available only until January 19. After that, tickets will be back on sale starting March 30.

However, connecting flights via Guangzhou remain available, and tickets can also be purchased for routes from Shenzhen to Moscow and Vladivostok to Yangtze.

According to estimates from the Association of Tour Operators of Russia, the cancellation of China Southern flights may affect between 15,000 to 17,000 passengers.

Officials indicate that this number is likely to increase as “the process of flight cancellations has only just begun.”

Other representatives from the travel industry noted that the situation is most challenging for travelers who planned to transit through Beijing to third countries.

The reasons for the flight cancellations are not specified. However, on January 9, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) issued recommendations for airlines, urging them to halt flights to five Russian cities: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Rostov-on-Don, and Samara.

These measures were linked to a recent incident where a passenger aircraft from Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) was shot down by air defense forces in Chechnya.

EASA reports that the danger is exacerbated by insufficient coordination between civilian authorities and military forces, as well as potential misidentification errors. EASA specifies that the Russian air defense system poses a particular threat.

Previously, seven foreign airlines had already partially suspended flights to Russia. Among them are Kazakhstan's Qazaq Air, Israel's El Al, the Arab airline Flydubai, Serbia's Air Serbia, Uzbekistan's Qanot Sharq, Turkmenistan Airlines, and Azerbaijan's AZAL, which has ceased air connections with 11 Russian cities.