© Corey Rudy/Reuters
Russia had to shut its airports 993 times in August, as Ukrainian drones scrambled its skies. It was the worst month for Russian civil aviation since the full-scale war began in 2022, with restrictions affecting 32 airports, including those serving Moscow and St. Petersburg, Euronews reported, citing the aviation security firm Osprey.
Ukraine is closing Russia's skies without firing at a single airliner. The summer brought 2,182 temporary shutdowns, more than Russia logged in all of 2025. August alone ran more than six times the 2025 monthly average, by the investigative outlet The Insider's count.
The fallout from Ukrainian attacks is economic: passenger traffic between Moscow and St. Petersburg has dropped by 20 to 23 percent, while rail demand has risen by about a fifth as travelers give up on flying.
The "Carpet" protocol grounds the planes
The closures are triggered by Russia's own defense response to Ukrainian attacks. When a drone is detected near an airport, Russia activates a protocol it calls "Kover", or "Carpet", an emergency procedure that grounds or reroutes every civil aircraft in the area. Ukraine has leaned into that reflex.
FlightRadar24 recorded an average of 86 flights canceled per day in the first three days of September, and on the worst nights around Moscow, between 77 and more than 100 flights were delayed or scrapped.
The disruption drains the economy
The point is exhaustion. Airport closures sit alongside rising insurance premiums, foreign carriers pulling out, and shrinking domestic mobility, said Mykhailo Samus of the Center for Army, Conversion and Disarmament Studies.
"Airport closures are the new reality for Russian aviation," he said.
Foreign airlines have begun diverting: Turkiye's Pegasus and the UAE's Flydubai both turned Moscow-bound flights back in early September.
Zelenskyy warns airlines and insurers
Zelenskyy made the strategy explicit on 1 September, warning airlines and insurers that Russian skies were no longer safe.
"We in Ukraine do not want innocent lives to be lost. The days of safety in Russia's skies are over," he said.
Major shutdowns at Russia's key airports on July 5–6 caused by Ukrainian drone attacks could cost Russian airlines around 20 billion rubles ($254 million), the pro-Kremlin outlet Kommersant reported on July 7, citing airline representatives and industry experts.
Since the start of mass disruptions on July 5, a total of 485 flights were canceled, 88 were diverted to alternate airports, and another 1,900 were delayed across major hubs, according to Russia's aviation agency Rosaviatsiya.
The drone attacks prompted operational shutdowns that triggered widespread logistical and economic consequences. Over 94,000 passengers were housed in hotels, 43,000 refunds were processed, and hundreds of thousands of vouchers for food and drinks were issued.
The estimated financial toll includes direct airline losses from canceled Boeing 737-800 flights, which can run between 15 million and 23 million rubles ($190,000–$292,000) each depending on the route, as well as costs for delays, diversions, and passenger care.
Experts say the true cost could be far higher. Dmitry Datsykov of EXPO.UAV estimated tens of billions of rubles in additional indirect losses, including missed connections, taxi and hotel losses, and supply chain disruptions.
Ukraine has not publicly claimed responsibility for the disruptions but has acknowledged that its drone strategy aims to undermine Russian logistics and force the war's consequences closer to the Russian public.
The economic fallout comes amid growing scrutiny of Russia's transport sector. On July 7, President Vladimir Putin dismissed Transport Minister Roman Starovoit following the aviation chaos and a high-profile ammonia leak at the Ust-Luga port.
The Kremlin has increasingly struggled to protect critical infrastructure from Kyiv's deep-strike drone campaign, which in recent months has expanded to include refineries, radar plants, and now Russia's busiest airports.
The Kyiv IndependentTim Zadorozhnyy
Russia's largest airports experienced hours-long flight delays and cancellations on July 5, as authorities imposed temporary restrictions due to a reported threat of Ukrainian drone attacks, the pro-Kremlin Telegram channel Shot reported.
Ukraine hasn't commented on the report. Kyiv's drone campaign, which has increasingly disrupted civilian air travel in Russia, is part of Ukraine's broader strategy to undermine Russia's logistics far beyond the front line.
Some passengers in Russia reported waiting more than 10 hours on July 5 as their flights were being delayed, according to Shot.
Departures at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport were halted for several hours, delaying over 20 flights. At St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport, roughly 50 flights were delayed and more than 20 canceled.
Leningrad Oblast Governor Alexander Drozdenko said that two drones were shot down south of St. Petersburg, prompting a temporary suspension of operations at Pulkovo Airport.
The disruptions followed a wave of Ukrainian drone attacks overnight, which targeted military and industrial infrastructure in at least six Russian regions.
The Russian Defense Ministry said it intercepted 42 drones within three hours, mainly over the Belgorod, Bryansk, and Kursk oblasts near the Ukrainian border.
Novaya Gazeta Europe reported in May that at least 217 temporary airport closures have occurred across Russia since Jan. 1 due to drone threats, more than in 2023 and 2024 combined.
A similar wave of strikes ahead of Russia's Victory Day in May led to massive delays, affecting an estimated 60,000 travelers.
The Kyiv IndependentTim Zadorozhnyy
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