Four Moscow Airports Lost Up to Nine Hours Daily to Drone Alerts in October
Independent investigators found that Ukrainian drone strikes triggered Russia's 'carpet' protocol, grounding flights at major hubs almost every day this month.
By Thomas Obasi ·
Ukrainian drone activity has grounded flights at Moscow’s four main airports for up to nine hours on some days in October. According to the independent investigative outlet Agentstvo, Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo, Zhukovsky, and Vnukovo suspended operations almost every day this month. The interruptions follow a strategy outlined by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in early September. He stated that Ukraine intended to cut off airspace around Moscow and other Russian destinations. Zelenskyy addressed airlines and insurers directly, warning that Russian airspace would become completely unsafe. Ukraine sent a matching warning to the International Civil Aviation Organization the next day.
The closures stem from a safety procedure administered by Rosaviatsiya, Russia's aviation authority. Known as the carpet protocol, the rule closes airspace immediately if an aircraft violates Russian airspace, weapons are used, or unidentified objects appear. Oleksandr Laneckij, chief executive of Friendly Avia Support, told DW that essentially every drone poses a military threat. He compared the disruption to the impact of Yemen's Houthis on Saudi airspace, noting that Ukraine's military capabilities far exceed theirs.
Military analyst Jan Matvejev said Ukraine could easily disrupt air traffic around Moscow. He noted that triggering the protocol requires only simple drones without warheads or long range. Ukraine's arms industry can produce hundreds of combat-ready long-range drones daily. Simon Shuster, writing in The Atlantic in October, cited well-informed sources to describe Ukraine's efforts as just getting started. Matvejev argued that Russian air defenses are not fully effective, stating that if it were possible to shoot the drones down, Russia would have done so by now.
Both experts warned of risks to civilian flights. Laneckij said Russia might lower the threshold for declaring the carpet protocol, increasing the danger of incidents like the 2024 Christmas day crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines flight. That aircraft was hit by a Russian air-defense missile fired to counter drones, killing 38 people. Matvejev said little has changed in Russia's air-defense protocol since then. He noted that while machine guns pose low risk to nearby aircraft, missiles from mass production could deflect toward airliners. Matvejev added that drones need no explosives to cause harm, as a collision with a plane weighing dozens of kilograms can be severe.
Ukrainian forces attacked Pskov airport in the summer of 2023, and drone debris fell on Sochi airport earlier this month. Russia has also struck Ukrainian airports, with Zelenskyy confirming hits on Kyiv's airport and Boryspil in September. Laneckij said whether foreign airlines continue flying to Russia depends on the military threat, demand, and insurance costs. He noted that if insurers rate the risk as very high, premiums could rise sharply, sending ticket prices soaring. Competition in Russia's aviation market has already shrunk as many airlines have gone out of business.
