At Least 26 Major Russian Airports Impose Aircraft Refueling Restrictions

At least 26 major Russian airports had introduced restrictions on aircraft refueling as of September 7, according to an analysis of aeronautical information system messages by the publication Verstka. The first restrictions began in June, with a second wave taking effect in September, and their duration ranges from one to nearly seven months depending on the airport.

At Pulkovo airport in St. Petersburg, a restriction active from September 2, 2026, to March 16, 2027, limits refueling for all flights strictly to the volume specified in the flight plan, with no additional fuel permitted. A similar restriction applies at Khrabrovo airport in Kaliningrad from June 8 to December 6 of this year. Both measures cover all carriers, domestic and foreign alike.

In 15 of the 26 airports, restrictions target only foreign airlines, with NOTAM messages stating that refueling of foreign aircraft is limited to the quantity necessary for a single flight. Four airports in the Urals — Koltsovo (Yekaterinburg), Balandino (Chelyabinsk), Roshchino (Tyumen), and Magnitogorsk — currently carry such restrictions. In southern Russia, where some airports remain closed due to the war in Ukraine, three of six regional airports — Sochi, Volgograd, and Astrakhan — have imposed refueling restrictions on both domestic and foreign carriers, while Krasnodar has restricted foreign airlines only.

Restricting refueling rather than closing airspace outright lets authorities constrain how far an aircraft can fly without grounding it entirely, since a plane limited to flight-plan fuel loses the option to tanker extra fuel for onward legs or diversions. That distinction matters operationally: carriers relying on minimum-fuel policies have less buffer for weather holds, alternate routing, or unplanned delays, which raises the practical cost of operating into affected airports even when service is technically permitted.

The split between blanket restrictions at Pulkovo and Khrabrovo and foreign-only restrictions at 15 other airports suggests two different rationales are in play — one applied uniformly for operational or supply reasons, the other targeted specifically at international carriers. Airports in the south, already constrained by the war in Ukraine, show the restrictions layered onto existing closures rather than replacing them.

What happens as the Pulkovo and Khrabrovo restrictions approach their stated end dates — March 16, 2027 and December 6 of this year, respectively — will show whether these measures are treated as temporary and tied to specific conditions, or whether they are renewed and extended to more airports.