Hundreds of canceled flights, hours of waiting, and buses instead of planes: what is happening at airports in Russia

On the night of Saturday, October 17, Russian civil aviation faced massive schedule disruptions due to flight restrictions imposed in the wake of attacks by Ukrainian drones. Airports in Moscow and St. Petersburg were particularly affected, according to the LETA agency, citing BBC and Russian media. According to the portal airports.ru, the following changes were recorded at the three largest airports in Moscow: - Sheremetyevo: 143 flights canceled, 53 delayed. - Vnukovo: 55 flights canceled, 113 delayed. - Domodedovo: 59 flights delayed. Thus, in these three airports alone, according to the provided data, at least 198 flights were canceled and another 225 were delayed. The total number of affected flights amounts to 423. At the same time, the Telegram channel Baza, using its own calculations, reported more than 370 canceled and delayed flights at Moscow airports due to the nighttime restrictions. Discrepancies in the figures may be related to different data collection times and counting methods. ## Dozens of flights also canceled in St. Petersburg The restrictions also affected Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg. According to airports.ru, 32 flights were canceled there, and another 140 were delayed. Thus, in Pulkovo, changes affected at least 172 flights. In total, the data provided by the portal for the airports in Moscow and St. Petersburg indicates nearly 600 canceled and delayed flights. ## Passengers transported to Moscow by buses One of the most unusual cases occurred with passengers on an Aeroflot flight heading to Moscow. As reported by the Telegram channel "Caution, News," the plane took off from Samara with a significant delay due to drone attacks. However, during the flight, the aircraft was redirected to Nizhny Novgorod. According to passengers, after landing, they remained on board the plane for about four hours, waiting for further instructions. Then people were allowed to disembark and were informed that they would be transported to Moscow by buses. This case became one of the examples of how airspace restrictions affected not only flight schedules but also travel routes. ## Zelensky previously warned about the dangers of flying over Russia In early September, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Russian airspace can no longer be considered safe for civil aviation. He warned that "drones will be present in Russian skies." The current restrictions at Russian airports occur against the backdrop of ongoing drone attacks, which cause aviation authorities to periodically suspend the acceptance and dispatch of aircraft. The timelines for the full restoration of the usual schedule are not specified in the provided reports.