Deutsche Welle: Temporary Restrictions at 27 Russian Airports as Moscow Reports 644 Ukrainian Drones Destroyed
Why It MattersRepeated simultaneous closures of Moscow's airports show how drone attacks can disrupt flight operations across a major airspace system, a growing exposure for operators and insurers using Russian airspace.
Temporary restrictions on aircraft arrivals and departures were imposed at 27 Russian airports on 16 October, according to Deutsche Welle's own calculations based on reports from Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency. Overnight, most of the airspace over European Russia was closed. By morning, more than 200 flights had been canceled or delayed at Moscow airports, according to figures compiled by a Russian Telegram channel. The outlet Astra reported that all four Moscow airports temporarily suspended arrivals and departures.
The closures were likely a consequence of a massive drone attack. Russia's Defense Ministry said its air defenses intercepted and destroyed 644 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles across 26 Russian regions, occupied Crimea and the Black Sea. Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin's statements, as tallied by RBC Radio, indicate 94 drones approaching Moscow were shot down over the evening of 15 October and overnight. In the Kaluga region, the governor first reported 27 drones destroyed over the evening and night, then said another 48 had been shot down.
Flight SU6312 from Kaliningrad to Moscow could not land because of the airspace closure and was diverted to Nizhny Novgorod. Passengers remained on board for about two hours after landing before being allowed to disembark at 3:30 a.m., and were to be taken to Moscow by bus on a trip expected to last about seven hours. They were not provided with food or drinks. Since the beginning of the year, all four Moscow airports have been completely shut down simultaneously at least 19 times, the outlet Agentstvo reported.
On 1 September, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned every airline using Russian airspace, every insurer and everyone still using Russia's key airports that Russian airspace was becoming completely unsafe. He said Ukraine does not threaten civilian aviation as such, but that there would be drones in Russia's skies on a scale that has to be taken into account.
