Operations disrupted at all Moscow region airports as Ukraine launches hundreds of UAVs

Unmanned aerial vehicles attacking Russia disrupted operations at all airports in the Moscow region. Airports implemented the Kover (Carpet) emergency plan for several hours before resuming normal operations. However, the attack significantly impacted flight schedules. Hundreds of departures have been delayed, whereas some aircraft en route to Moscow had to land at alternate airports for safety reasons.

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Sheremetyevo Airport

Delays Reach Up to Nine Hours

Due to temporary restrictions at Moscow's airports, many flights are delayed by up to nine hours. Vnukovo Airport has the most severe delays as almost all flights scheduled before 2:00 PM are departing later than planned. The situation is slightly better at Domodedovo and Sheremetyevo, while Zhukovsky remains on schedule as of 11:16 AM Moscow time.

• An Azimuth Airlines flight from Vnukovo to Tbilisi is delayed by nine hours,
• Nesma's flight to Hurghada is postponed by five hours,
• Flydubai's flight to Dubai is delayed by six hours.

Other affected flights include those to Mineralnye Vody, Sochi, Tashkent, Batumi, Istanbul, and many more destinations.

Moreover, the drone attack affected inbound flights to Moscow. After the Kover plan was implemented, aircraft in transit were diverted to alternate airports. Some landed in St. Petersburg, Kazan, Samara, Saratov, Ufa, and Syktyvkar. A Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul to Vnukovo diverted to Vilnius, while a Pobeda flight from Tashkent landed in Yaroslavl. Passengers have been promised transportation to Moscow as soon as possible.

"During the restrictions, the following flights were diverted to alternate airports: 26 aircraft originally bound for Domodedovo, 18 for Vnukovo, and 2 for Zhukovsky," Rosaviatsiya (Russian Federal Air Transport Agency) said. 

Flight Delays Across Multiple Airports

At Sheremetyevo, several flights are delayed for hours, including Air Serbia's flight to Belgrade, Aeroflot's SU 1152 to Sochi, Armenian Airlines' flight to Yerevan, and Aeroflot flights to Yekaterinburg, Istanbul, Dubai, Samara, and more. Other delayed flights include those to Vladikavkaz, Kaliningrad, Makhachkala, Tyumen, Nizhnekamsk, Casablanca, Cheboksary, Perm, St. Petersburg, and Orenburg.

At Domodedovo, passengers are waiting for clearance to depart on S7 flights to Antalya and Sochi, as well as Ural Airlines flights to Dubai, Sharm El-Sheikh, and Kaliningrad.

Passengers Stranded on Planes for Hours

Many passengers were not informed about flight delays via notifications, so they arrived at the airport early. As a result, some boarded their planes only to remain stuck inside for hours. Cabin crews turned on air conditioning and offered drinks, including water, hot beverages, and soft drinks. Similar situations occurred at other airports with outbound flights to Moscow.

Drone Attack Disrupts Aeroexpress Train Service

The drone attack also affected the Aeroexpress train service. A fallen drone damaged Russian Railways (RZD) infrastructure at Domodedovo station, causing all trains in both directions to operate at extended intervals. No injuries were reported, and railway crews are working to restore normal schedules.

Details

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), or unmanned aircraft system (UAS), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft with no human pilot, crew, or passengers onboard, but rather is controlled remotely or is autonomous. UAVs were originally developed through the twentieth century for military missions too "dull, dirty or dangerous" for humans, and by the twenty-first, they had become essential assets to most militaries. As control technologies improved and costs fell, their use expanded to many non-military applications. These include aerial photography, area coverage, precision agriculture, forest fire monitoring, river monitoring, environmental monitoring, weather observation, policing and surveillance, infrastructure inspections, smuggling, product deliveries, entertainment, and drone racing.