Drone attacks again disrupt Moscow's airports, delaying hundreds of flights
Drone attacks again snarled Moscow's airports, and more than 350 flights were delayed or canceled on Saturday, by Meduza's count. Russia's air agency then curbed flights at two of the airports late Saturday, DW and Kommersant reported. Moscow's mayor said 512 drones flew toward the region in one day, Kommersant reported.
Drone attacks disrupted Moscow's airports again over the weekend, as the city's mayor reported hundreds of drones that he said were Ukrainian.
More than 350 flights were delayed or canceled after airport restrictions overnight into Saturday, Meduza counted from online departure boards, with the most at Sheremetyevo. DW and The Moscow Times cited that count. Domodedovo, Vnukovo and Zhukovsky airports were closed to flights for about 7.5 hours and Sheremetyevo for five hours, The Moscow Times reported, citing Russia's air transport agency, Rosaviatsia. It was the fourth time in a week that authorities had restricted the Moscow airports, The Moscow Times reported.
Some planes bound for Moscow were sent to other cities, including Nizhny Novgorod and St. Petersburg, DW, Meduza and The Moscow Times reported. Meduza and The Moscow Times reported that passengers were then taken to Moscow by bus.
By 3:30 p.m. Moscow time Saturday (8:30 a.m. ET), 103 flights were delayed at Moscow airports, DW reported, citing Russia's transport ministry. At about 11 p.m. Moscow time (4 p.m. ET), Rosaviatsia announced temporary restrictions at Vnukovo and Domodedovo, DW reported. Kommersant reported that the agency lifted them at 5:34 a.m. Moscow time Sunday (10:34 p.m. ET Saturday).
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 195 drones heading for Moscow were destroyed on Saturday and 36 more overnight, DW reported. On Sunday, Sobyanin said 512 drones flew toward the Moscow region between 8:30 a.m. Saturday and 8:30 a.m. Sunday Moscow time, and that 127 were shot down near the city, Kommersant reported. Authorities did not report any damage, according to Kommersant. The drone figures could not be independently verified.
DW reported that an Air Cairo flight to Hurghada, Egypt, had been stuck at Sheremetyevo for more than 40 hours, and that delays at Moscow airports had now lasted three days in a row. Meduza noted a report in The Atlantic, citing sources, that said Ukraine's campaign to paralyze Russian airports was only beginning.
The DW, Meduza, Moscow Times and Kommersant reports were in Russian and were translated by NewsHabit.
What we know: Drone alerts again shut or limited Moscow's airports, leaving hundreds of flights delayed or canceled.
What we don't: How long the disruptions will last and whether the drones caused any damage.
Where outlets agree DW and The Moscow Times cite Meduza's count of more than 350 delayed or canceled flights at Moscow airports, and DW and Kommersant report that flights were limited at Vnukovo and Domodedovo late Saturday.
Where they differ The outlets cited here report the same key facts so far.