Russia's Aeroflot replaces an A321 plane on Moscow-St Petersburg route

Ben Bassey 10:57 - 03 November 2015

"Before takeoff, Aeroflot specialists detected a malfunction with one of the cockpit displays. It was decided to replace the aircraft," an airline spokesman said in emailed comments.

Russian state airline Aeroflot said on Tuesday it had replaced an Airbus A321 aircraft on its Moscow-St Petersburg route because of technical issues in its cockpit.

An A321 plane operated by Aeroflot competitor Kogalymavia crashed in Egypt on Saturday, killing all of the mostly Russian 224 passengers and crew.

Aeroflot said the technical fault on its Tuesday flight had been identified while the plane was still on the ground. No other A321s were affected.

After a delay, all passengers arrived safely in St Petersburg, he added.

More 100 pieces of debris and 140 bodies from the crash site of Saturday's doomed flight have also been delivered to the northern Russian city, Interfax news agency reported.