Foreign airlines cancel flights to Moscow en masse following Zelenskyy’s warning
Photo: Domodedovo Airport in Moscow (Getty Images)
The number of flight cancellations at Moscow airports has surged following Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s announcement that the airspace over Russia would be closed. Nearly 30 flights will not operate, according to the Telegram channel Agentstvo Novosti.
Flights to Moscow canceled
Overall, foreign airlines canceled 27 flights to and from Moscow airports on September 2.
Cancellations included:
- Turkish airline Pegasus canceled six flights to Moscow and six return flights to Vnukovo.
- Turkish Airlines canceled two flights from Istanbul to Vnukovo and two return flights.
- Flydubai canceled flights to and from Vnukovo from Dubai.
- Nesma Airlines canceled flights to and from Vnukovo from Sharm El-Sheikh.
- Shirak Avia canceled four scheduled flights to and from Yerevan.
- Kuwait Airways canceled flights to and from Domodedovo from Kuwait.
- Somon Air canceled one scheduled flight from Domodedovo to Dushanbe.
Most of the canceled flights were scheduled to land in Moscow or depart from the city overnight or early in the morning.
Meanwhile, aircraft operated by other airlines continued to fly during this period, the outlet reports.
There were significantly fewer cancellations on September 1. At Vnukovo, only two flights failed to arrive: Flydubai from Dubai and Iraqi Airways from Baghdad. At Domodedovo, only a Belavia flight from Minsk was canceled.
What are the reasons
Pegasus explained the cancellation of its overnight flights to Russia as being due to "technical operational reasons" and emphasized that other flights are operating as scheduled.
Turkish Airlines explained the cancellations by saying that two narrow-body aircraft had been replaced by one wide-body aircraft.
Restrictions on airport operations due to drone attacks and the "Carpet" plan were imposed at Moscow airports on September 1 and 2.
Earlier, RBC-Ukraine reported that on the night of September 2, several Pegasus aircraft failed to reach the Russian capital and were forced to return to their departure airports.
It was also reported that Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Ukraine had officially warned the International Civil Aviation Organization about the closure of Russian airspace.
In addition, on September 1, Zelenskyy said Russian airspace was becoming dangerous for civil aviation due to the large-scale presence of Ukrainian drones.
