Ukraine "closes" The Airspace Over Russia
- 4.11.2026, 23:29
In October, 34,000 flights were delayed or canceled at Russian airports due to drones.
Due to closures of Russian airports caused by UAV attacks, nearly 34,000 flights were delayed or canceled in October, according to calculations by “Aviatorshchina” based on data from airport departure boards. This represents nearly half (49%) of all flights included in the analysis (which covers the 50 largest Russian and foreign carriers). According to the calculations, 30,700 flights were delayed between October 1 and 30, and another 3,000 were canceled. A total of 35,500 flights.
“The situation was influenced by numerous and prolonged restrictions on airport operations due to security threats,” the channel notes. In October, various restrictions were imposed at 49 airports in the Russian Federation 495 times (+27% compared to September). Their total duration reached 2,092 airport-hours (+16%), according to RunAvia data. The four airports in the Moscow air hub accounted for 82 instances of restrictions (lasting 262 hours), which set a record since the beginning of 2025. In October, all Moscow airports operated under restrictions for 13 out of 31 days. According to Rosaviatsiya data, Russian airports were closed 2,860 times due to drones between January and August.
This is 4.5 times more than during the same period in 2025, when the “Kover” plan was implemented 643 times (excluding restrictions due to weather conditions), according to Forbes’ calculations. In the first eight months of 2025, 1,174 flights were diverted to alternate airports, but Rosaviatsiya has not published figures for 2026. According to Andrei Patrakov, CEO of RunAvia, the number of diverted flights this year could have increased approximately fourfold.
In October 2026, Russian airlines included in the “Aviatorshchina” selection operated 28,900 flights as scheduled; nearly as many were delayed and canceled—25,200 and 2,500, respectively. Among international carriers, out of 12,600 flights, 5,500 were delayed and 520 were canceled.