Russia delays over 460 flights amid record drone attack
Photo: Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow (Getty Images)
Moscow and St. Petersburg airports were affected by a large-scale drone attack on October 29. A total of 460 flights were canceled or delayed, according to the Astra Telegram channel.
Aviation collapse in Russia
On October 29, more than 460 flights were delayed or canceled at airports in Moscow and St. Petersburg, according to ASTRA’s calculations based on data from airports.ru.
Vnukovo and Sheremetyevo suffered the worst disruptions. Pulkovo accepted aircraft that were unable to land in Moscow.
Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency lifted flight restrictions at Vnukovo, Domodedovo and Zhukovsky only at 6:46 a.m. Delays continued into the evening.
Record drone attack
The Defense Ministry of Russia claimed that 1,214 drones had been shot down over 18 regions and Moscow overnight and in the morning.
According to Bloomberg, this is the highest number of drones Russia has reported shooting down in a single announcement since the start of its war against Ukraine. The previous record was set on September 20, when the Defense Ministry reported 1,110 drones shot down.
RBC-Ukraine previously reported that drones attacked Moscow on the evening of October 28 and overnight into October 29. According to Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin, more than 50 drones had been intercepted in total.
In addition, following a large-scale attack by Ukraine’s Defense Forces on the Russian capital on October 24, more than 210 flights were delayed or canceled at Moscow airports.
