The resumption of international flights in Russia after the four month hiatus caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has been marred by an accident at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport, where a fuel truck collided with an Airbus A321.
The truck crashed into a plane belonging to national flag carrier, Aeroflot, early on Saturday. It happened on a remote parking lot, and no crew or passengers were on board the Airbus, which was preparing for a flight to the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Sheremetyevo Airport’s press service said.
Both the plane and the truck suffered damage in the collision. Photos and videos from the scene published by RT’s Ruptly video agency, and other outlets, showed a large crack in the nose section of the aircraft, priced at over $118 million.
The service vehicle had its cockpit smashed. The driver was hurt, but his injuries didn’t require hospitalization as he was treated on site.
The incident, which has not affected the airport’s operations, is now being investigated. Sheremetyevo International Airport is one of four air hubs in Moscow. The largest airport in the country, it served almost 50 million passengers in 2019.
On Saturday, international flights resumed from airports in Moscow, St Petersburg, and Rostov-on-Don after the long break introduced to stem the coronavirus pandemic. Available destinations at the moment are London, the Turkish cities of Ankara and Istanbul, and Zanzibar in Tanzania.
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