Russian Airports Hit 993 Closures in August as Ukraine's Drone Campaign Intensifies
Why It MattersSustained airspace disruption and GPS-spoofing risk over Russia are pushing international carriers toward route suspensions, rerouting and heightened insurance scrutiny of Russian airspace.
Russian airports were temporarily shut down 993 times in August 2026, averaging 32 closures a day, according to aviation risk consultancy Osprey Flight Solutions — more than one-third higher than July's total. Across June, July and August combined, closures reached 2,182, surpassing the 1,923 closures Russian media reported for all of 2025. Osprey estimated roughly 16,000 Ukrainian drones entered Russian airspace in August, up from about 13,000 in July and 11,000 in June, with closures triggered by Russia's "Kover" protocol, which halts takeoffs and redirects incoming civilian aircraft when an unidentified drone is detected near an airfield.
Serhiy Bratchuk, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Volunteer Army, said the campaign aims not to strike civilian aircraft but to force operational shutdowns and disrupt logistics across the European part of Russia. Osprey analysts warned that GPS spoofing and electronic jamming used by Russian air defenses to intercept drones pose a secondary risk to commercial aircraft, including possible misidentification by air-defense systems.
On September 1, 2026, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned international airlines and insurers that Russian airspace is "becoming completely unsafe" and called on carriers to halt flights to Moscow and St. Petersburg; Russian President Vladimir Putin called the statement a "declaration of state terrorism." Flightradar24 reported airlines have canceled an average of 86 flights a day in Russia since early September, with up to 120 flights delayed or canceled at Moscow's main airports in a single day during early-September drone barrages.
Tajikistan canceled three Ural Airlines flights, Uzbekistan Airways rerouted services citing flight safety, and Pegasus Airlines and flydubai adjusted or temporarily suspended specific routes; Rosaviatsia attributed the Pegasus cancellations to technical reasons, noting the carrier later requested and received approval for additional flights. At Sochi Airport, one of two aircraft-fueling operators suspended operations after a drone attack struck a nearby Rosneft oil depot in Adler on September 4. Ukraine has formally notified the International Civil Aviation Organization of the escalating risks.
