St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport Suspends Flights for Over Six Hours After Drone Attack; 29 Departures Cancelled
Why It MattersRepeated drone-driven airspace closures at major Russian hubs force diversions and multi-hour schedule recovery, tightening available capacity around the St. Petersburg and Moscow airport systems.
Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg suspended flights for more than six hours on Sunday, October 18, after a large-scale overnight drone attack triggered emergency airspace restrictions. The airport stopped accepting and dispatching aircraft shortly after 2 a.m. Moscow time, and passengers and airport employees were directed to designated shelters while the security alert remained active. Operations resumed on a restricted basis after 9 a.m., with flights permitted only after coordination with the relevant authorities, and the remaining restrictions were lifted at about 10 a.m.
By early afternoon, the departure board showed 29 cancelled departures, and at least 41 departures were delayed by more than two hours. Earlier in the day, airport information reported by local outlet Fontanka had shown 26 cancelled departures and 52 flights delayed by more than two hours. The number of cancelled arriving flights reached 24, and at least 50 inbound flights were running more than two hours late. The airport operator reported 13 aircraft diverted to alternative airports during the restrictions, seven of which had not yet returned to Pulkovo by early afternoon.
Russian authorities said 135 drones were intercepted over the Leningrad region overnight; the figure is an official Russian claim that could not be independently verified. Authorities also reported damage to infrastructure in St. Petersburg and surrounding areas, including fires at industrial facilities. The airport operator said Pulkovo's own infrastructure had not been damaged.
After restrictions were lifted, the airport had handled more than 55 flights and about 7,000 passengers, according to the operator. The airport said restoring normal schedules could take up to 24 hours. The shutdown follows other drone-related airspace restrictions at Russian airports; Moscow's four main airports were temporarily closed during a separate attack on October 15–16, with more than 200 reported flight cancellations.
