Russian civil aviation authorities suspended flights at Moscow’s Domodedovo, Vnukovo, and Zhukovsky airports, as well as in Nizhny Novgorod, Kirov, Yaroslavl, Kazan, and other cities today, after Ukraine launched its most extensive drone assault on Russia, resulting in significant travel disruptions late Tuesday and Wednesday.
According to a representative of Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency, airport closures and flight cancellations were announced to guarantee the safety of civil aviation operations.
Russian Defense Ministry reported that 524 Ukrainian drones have been intercepted nationwide overnight, marking the largest series of drone strikes since Russia launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February of 2022.
Prominent Russian air carriers such as Aeroflot, Pobeda, and S7 have warned travelers to anticipate disruptions due to the cancellation of hundreds of flights scheduled for today. S7 announced that it will providing a complete refund for passengers whose flights have been canceled or offering the option to exchange tickets for alternative flights if seats are available.
Transportation officials in Siberia reported that over 4,000 travelers were left stranded at airports across 10 cities. The majority of these disruptions were attributed to late arrivals of flights resulting from airspace restrictions at Moscow airports.
Association of Tour Operators in Russia (ATOR) estimated that by Wednesday afternoon, at least 60,000 passengers had been affected by delays and cancellations of flights.
“Due to the peculiarities of airlines’ schedule planning, these delays and cancellations will not be the end of it: planes that did not arrive at their destination on time will be late for other flights as well,” tour operators group said.
