Moscow airports halt flights amid drone attack concerns
At five airports - four in the Moscow region and one in the adjacent Kaluga region - arrivals and departures were suspended. The Russian aviation market regulator, Rosaviatsiya, states this is due to safety concerns. Russian channels on Telegram are explicitly mentioning the threat of a drone attack.
On Thursday around 12 PM Eastern Time, air traffic was suspended at Vnukovo, Domodedovo, and Sheremetyevo airports. A moment later, it was revealed that Zhukovsky Airport, located about 35 kilometres from Moscow, and the airport in Kaluga in the neighbouring Kaluga region were also closed.
Some planes had to turn back to the airports from which they departed on their way to Moscow. This was the case, for instance, on the Minsk-Moscow route.
"For the safety of civil aircraft flights, temporary restrictions were imposed on the operations of Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, Vnukovo, Zhukovsky, and Kaluga airports. The airports are temporarily not accepting or dispatching planes," reads the statement from the Russian aviation market regulator, Rosaviatsiya.
Threat of a drone attack?
Meanwhile, Russian channels on Telegram are explicitly discussing the threat of a drone attack and the implementation of the "Carpet" plan. It assumes that all planes or helicopters in the airspace must land or leave the threatened area.
Air traffic at the airports resumed after an hour. The reason for the restrictions has not been officially provided.
Source: ria.ru, TG
