Russia suspended arrivals and departures at all four Moscow airports on Oct. 23. Passengers at Sheremetyevo airport (SVO) were escorted to shelters as air raid sirens sounded, while operations at Moscow’s Domodedovo (DME), Vnukovo (VKO), and Zhukovsky (ZIA) airports were suspended.
What happened and what were the consequences?
One Boeing circled Moscow for about four hours before landing back at the airport, MSK reported. 17 drones were said to have been heading towards the city and had been intercepted, while emergency services were working at the site of a strike. The increasing threat of drones has put airlines under intense pressure to ensure they are prepared for evacuation.
Passengers at Sheremetyevo were told to move away from windows, go to restricted parts of the terminals and stay in safe zones. They were also directed to bomb shelters.
Local media reported that drone debris had fallen on the runway of Sheremetyevo, with 117 flights to be delayed. Sheremetyevo issued an air raid alert, while Vnukovo warned passengers of prolonged waits, including aboard aircraft.
As a result of the threat, airlines, including Rossiya Airlines (FV) and Aeroflot (SU), said they had to delay some flights. The airport’s press service said:
“Passengers are being evacuated, and access to the sterile areas of all terminals is currently restricted. Passengers are being informed.”
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky warns that drone operations would increasingly affect Russian airspace. Zelensky said:
“In Ukraine, we do not want innocent lives to be lost. That is why we are warning our partners: there are no longer safe moments in Russia’s skies.”
Russian authorities were not adequately disclosing the risks to civilian aviation, but Zelensky urges airlines to take account of the growing risks and that Ukrainian drone attacks will effectively force Russian airspace to close.
Attacks on Ukraine this month
Earlier this month, four Russian government planes belonging to the presidential special flight squadron were forced to circle over Moscow after a Ukrainian drone attack struck airports in the city. The planes were returning from Turkmenistan where Vladimir Putin was attending a summit. Residents reported hearing explosions before flights were suspended for roughly six to seven hours at the airports.
Operation Kovyor (known as ‘Carpet Plan’) comes into effect when Russian airports face a risk of drone activity. Carpet Plan demonstrates that all aircraft on the ground must remain there, and if an aircraft is close to its destination, it is forced to land at an alternative airfield.
In Moscow, a large-scale evacuation occurred after a false alarm alerted to an “unmanned aerial threat” in an office building. The alarm went off at 3:30 pm at the IQ Quarter tower in the centre. The building had previously been targeted by Ukrainian drones; Russian forces attacked two private businesses in Chernihiv last Friday, killing one person and injuring an additional 25 people.
According to a Conflict Zone and Risk Database report by Safe Airspace, Ukraine’s airspace has remained closed to civilian aviation since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Russia continues intensifying the strikes on Ukraine nationwide.
Would you still board a flight departing Moscow? Do you think it would be safe to do so? Let us know in the comments below!
