Russian transportation authorities said on Wednesday they would prevent any significant disruption to civil aviation after Volodymyr Zelensky warned that drone attacks were making Russian airspace too dangerous for flying. The terrorism warning landed while Sheremetyevo airport and Vnukovo airport were already recording cancellations and delays that hit passengers and airlines across the Moscow network.
Andrei Nikitin said civil aviation authorities were “constantly improving flight safety and airport security requirements, and we have solutions for all of this,” and added, “We are working in close contact with the Defense Ministry and the Russian National Guard. And I believe that we will not allow any significant disruption to civil aviation,” according to Interfax. For travelers moving through Sheremetyevo and Vnukovo, the immediate issue is not the warning itself but the already visible strain on schedules.
Sheremetyevo and Vnukovo
Flightradar24 showed 21 canceled flights and 235 delays at Sheremetyevo airport on Wednesday. Vnukovo airport showed 22 canceled flights and 94 delays the same day. Together, those figures point to 43 canceled flights and 329 delays at the two Moscow airports named in the reporting.
That disruption followed Zelensky’s warning on Tuesday that Kyiv’s drone attacks were making Russian airspace too dangerous for flying. Andrii Sybiha said Kyiv had officially notified the International Civil Aviation Organization that Russian airspace is unsafe for commercial flights, adding a formal diplomatic layer to a problem now visible in the airport departure boards.
Pegasus Airlines and flights
Vnukovo airport said Pegasus Airlines had canceled six arriving flights and six departing flights at the hub on Tuesday, and Pegasus Airlines said overnight flights into Wednesday would be affected. Pegasus Airlines also said other ongoing flights were operating as scheduled, which suggests the carrier is trying to keep part of its network moving even as it trims exposure on some Russia routes.
For passengers and airlines, the practical reading is simple: Wednesday’s disruptions were not isolated to one carrier or one terminal. The cancellations and delays at Sheremetyevo airport and Vnukovo airport show that civil aviation was already absorbing the pressure when Russian transportation authorities pledged not to let the system break down further.
Osprey Flight Solutions
Osprey Flight Solutions said daily attacks deeper inside Russia were near-certain through 2026, including near Moscow and St Petersburg, and said there is a realistic possibility that the frequency of Ukrainian strikes will continue to increase in the short term deep inside Russian territory. Osprey Flight Solutions also said miscalculation or misidentification is likely in areas related to the Ukraine conflict, which raises the stakes for route planning and airport security decisions inside Russia.
That leaves the immediate next step with Russian transportation authorities: keep flights moving while the pattern of drone-related disruption continues. What specific measures they will use is not explained, but Andrei Nikitin’s pledge ties civil aviation, the Defense Ministry and the Russian National Guard to the same effort as passengers and airlines wait to see whether the next day brings fewer cancellations or more.
