Overview
- On Friday, Oct. 23, Russian aviation authorities imposed temporary restrictions at Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, Vnukovo and Zhukovsky and evacuated passengers at Sheremetyevo after reports of drone threats.
- Air traffic was effectively paused over the capital and dozens of flights were delayed, cancelled or diverted, with one Emirates A380 (EK133) held in a roughly two-hour holding pattern south of Moscow.
- Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said 17 drones were shot down, and social media later showed unverified photos claiming drone debris on Sheremetyevo’s tarmac.
- Controllers rerouted incoming flights to alternate hubs such as Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod and St. Petersburg, with Chkalov handling 13 diverted flights and Pulkovo taking 25.
- Transport authorities and the Transport Prosecutor’s Office are monitoring the response, airlines have activated passenger-assistance measures, and airports warned of lasting backlogs as operations resume.