The work of all four Moscow airports was limited on the night of August 18 due to the arrival of a drone, Rosaviatsia said.
“In order to ensure the safety of civil aircraft flights were temporarily restricted to Moscow airports: Vnukovo, Domodedovo and Sheremetyevo. Also to Zhukovsky airport”, the agency said (quoted by Interfax).
At 4:30 a.m. Moscow time, restrictions on the reception and departure of flights were lifted. During the closure of the airspace over Moscow, seven flights were redirected: three to Strigino airfield (Nizhny Novgorod), three to Pulkovo (St. Petersburg), one flight from Istanbul landed in Minsk.
It is specified that after the restrictions were lifted, passengers of the flights were delivered to the airports of destination.
At night, the drone flew to the business complex “Moscow City”, where it was shot down by the air defense system. According to Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin, the wreckage of the drone fell in the area of “Expocenter”. According to TASS, one of the pavilions of “Expocenter” was partially damaged. In particular, the outer wall collapsed. The area of the collapse is about 30 square meters, said the agency’s source in the emergency services.
Also sounds of explosions were heard in Odintsovo, Trekhgorka and Krasnogorsk near Moscow, writes telegram channel Shot. There is no official confirmation of this information.
The last time the capital’s airports were closed during a drone attack on the night of August 10. Then restrictions on the reception and dispatch of flights were introduced in Vnukovo and Domodedovo. In total, the arrival of almost 30 flights was delayed at the two airports. The arriving planes were diverted to other air havens.
In turn, air defense forces shot down drones flying toward Moscow in the Kaluga Region and near the Central Ring Road.
Since August 1, Turkmenistan Airlines announced the suspension of flights to Moscow due to the risks arising from the increased drone attacks. The company will not operate flights to the Russian capital until at least August 22.
