Over 100 Flights Delayed at Moscow Airports After Overnight Restrictions

More than a hundred flights were held up at Moscow's airports after overnight restrictions on arrivals and departures, with the capital's air hub reporting 103 delayed flights.

The restrictions were imposed at Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, Vnukovo and Zhukovsky in the early hours of Saturday; the airports neither accepted nor dispatched aircraft until 7 a.m., which disrupted schedules.

Deputy Transport Minister Vladimir Poteshkin chaired an operational meeting on civil aviation, after which responsibilities were divided among state agencies and industry players. Airports said all of them are receiving and sending flights in coordination with the relevant authorities, adding that safety comes first.

Under the plan, airline chiefs must strictly follow rules on providing drinks and food and on putting passengers up in hotels, step up the work of Rostransnadzor representatives on the ground and arrange SMS alerts on flight status. Call centres were told to inform passengers about changes in advance through available channels, airports are to create comfortable conditions for waiting, and the air traffic management corporation will oversee the redirection of aircraft to alternate airports after assessing their equipment and capacity.

According to the Association of Tour Operators of Russia, Sheremetyevo saw 75 departures delayed and 48 cancelled, along with 61 arrivals delayed and 34 cancelled. Many aircraft bound for Vnukovo were sent to alternate airfields where flight bans were soon introduced as well, and the capital's airports expect departures to increase in the next two hours.

A passenger plane flying from Dubai to Moscow overnight was forced to land in another city because of the restrictions; travellers were promised delivery to Moscow by bus, though some bought train tickets themselves, saying they had no strength left to wait.