Operations at 13 airports in southern Russia have been temporarily suspended after Ukrainian UAVs struck the building of the Air Navigation of Southern Russia branch, the Transport Ministry said.
TASS has gathered the key facts about the situation.
UAV strike
- Operations at the regional center in Rostov-on-Don, which manages air traffic in southern Russia, were temporarily adjusted after Ukrainian UAVs struck the administrative building of the Air Navigation of Southern Russia branch, the Transport Ministry said.
- Personnel are safe, and an assessment of the equipment’s operational capacity is underway, the ministry noted.
Airport suspensions
- Operations at 13 airports in southern Russia were temporarily suspended after Ukrainian UAVs struck the building of the Air Navigation of Southern Russia branch, the Transport Ministry said.
- According to the ministry, operations have been temporarily suspended at the airports of Astrakhan, Vladikavkaz, Volgograd, Gelendzhik, Grozny, Krasnodar, Makhachkala, Magas, Mineralnye Vody, Nalchik, Sochi, Stavropol, and Elista.
Schedule adjustments
- According to the Transport Ministry, air traffic management procedures in southern Russia are being adjusted.
- The Transport Ministry and the Federal Air Transport Agency, together with airlines and airports, are revising schedules.
- Aeroflot is postponing departure times or canceling some flights due to the temporary suspension of airport operations in southern Russia, the airline said.
- Some flights have been redirected to alternate airfields.
- Aeroflot clarified that international flights from airports in other Russian regions continue to operate.
- At the same time, flight durations on some routes may increase.
- Operational and customer service divisions, including the airline’s contact center, have switched to enhanced operating mode.
- Passengers awaiting departure are being provided services in accordance with Federal Aviation Regulations.
- Rossiya Airlines has postponed and canceled some flights due to the suspension of airport operations in southern Russia, the carrier’s press service said. Some flights have been redirected to alternate airfields.
- The airline added that international flights from airports in other Russian regions continue to operate.
- Pobeda Airlines is also adjusting its schedule due to the suspension of airport operations in southern Russia, the carrier said. Some flights have been redirected to alternate airfields.
- The company continues international flights from airports in other Russian regions, although some flight durations may increase.
- The carrier reminded passengers that its forced refund service allows tickets to be refunded independently, including non-refundable fares, and urged customers to check flight statuses before traveling to the airport.
Situation at airports
- Earlier reports said more than 55 flights had been delayed at Sochi Airport amid aviation restrictions, while another 11 were canceled.
- According to online departure boards, 30 outbound flights have been delayed, including international flights to Sharm el-Sheikh, Antalya, Tbilisi, and Yerevan.
- Delays have also affected the arrival of another 26 aircraft, while 11 flights have been canceled.
- Since the beginning of the day, temporary restrictions on aircraft arrivals and departures have been introduced at the airports of Ulyanovsk, Samara, Kazan, Cheboksary, Bugulma, Izhevsk, Ufa, Perm, and Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport.
- At present, the restrictions remain in effect only at Perm Airport.
- Thirteen flights have been canceled at Mineralnye Vody Airport, the airport’s press service said.
- According to online departure boards, around 11 flights have been delayed.
- Twenty-three flights from Pulkovo Airport to southern Russian cities have been canceled or delayed due to the suspension of operations at 13 airports, according to Northern Capital Gateway, the company managing the airport.
- At least 14,000 passengers are awaiting departure from the suspended airports in southern Russia, according to preliminary data provided to TASS by the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR).
- In total, more than 80 flights have been delayed or canceled at southern Russian airports that suspended operations, according to a preliminary estimate by ATOR analysts as of 10:00 Moscow time on May 8.
- The association noted that the situation is particularly difficult in Sochi, where the current disruptions come on top of major scheduling problems over the past two days.
- Due in part to the suspension of southern Russian airports, 13 outbound international flights carrying around 3,000 tourists from Sochi, Mineralnye Vody, Krasnodar, Makhachkala, and Vladikavkaz have currently been canceled or delayed, the association said.
- ATOR stressed that this will also lead to corresponding disruptions in flight schedules from foreign airports to these Russian destinations.
