More than 20 flights to Moscow diverted due to airport restrictions

On the evening of October 29, more than 20 passenger aircraft flying to Moscow changed their routes due to temporary restrictions at the capital's airports. Four flights from Istanbul turned around in the air and returned to Turkey, while dozens of aircraft were diverted to alternate airfields.

Aziz KarimovFirst published on tafs uz 30 October 2026 at 03:172 min read

The key facts

More than 20 flights to Moscow were diverted; four flights from Istanbul returned to Turkey
12 aircraft bound for Vnukovo were sent to St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Minsk, Yaroslavl and Sheremetyevo
About 15 flights bound for Sheremetyevo were sent to alternate airfields in Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, St. Petersburg and Saratov

Mass flight diversions

On the evening of October 29, more than 20 passenger aircraft bound for Moscow were forced to change their routes due to restrictions at the capital's airports. TASS reports this, citing airport representatives and a source in air traffic control services (based on Life.ru materials). Four flights from Istanbul turned around mid-air: three aircraft heading to Vnukovo turned back over Polish territory, and one more did so in the airspace of the Tver Region. The aircraft are to return to Istanbul New Airport and Sabiha Gökçen Airport; it is not yet known when the passengers will be able to depart for Moscow again.

Where the planes were diverted

The restrictions affected all three major Moscow airports. Vnukovo was unable to accept 12 aircraft arriving from Pskov, Antalya, Dubai, Samarkand, Istanbul and Syktyvkar — they were redirected to St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Minsk, Yaroslavl and Sheremetyevo. About 15 flights bound for Sheremetyevo were sent to alternate airfields in Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, St. Petersburg and Saratov. Planes flying to Domodedovo from Baku and Kaliningrad were diverted to Nizhny Novgorod and St. Petersburg. Some crews, including on individual flights from St. Petersburg and Baku, decided to return to their departure airports.

Reason for the restrictions

According to Life.ru, on the evening of October 29 the number of drones shot down on approach to Moscow rose to 22; emergency services worked at the sites where debris fell. Against the backdrop of the attack, temporary restrictions on receiving and dispatching aircraft were introduced at Moscow airports — it was these restrictions that forced dozens of aircraft to change their routes while already in the air.