MOSCOW: Ukrainian drone attacks caused widespread disruption at Moscow’s major airports on Monday, leaving thousands of passengers stranded amid flight cancellations and delays.
Videos shared by Russian media showed long queues and travellers sleeping on the floor at Sheremetyevo, Russia’s busiest airport.
Russia’s defence ministry stated that 117 drones were intercepted overnight, including 30 over the Moscow region. This follows the downing of 172 drones the previous day.
The civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsiya, temporarily restricted flights at Sheremetyevo, Vnukovo, Domodedovo, and Zhukovskiy airports.
The chaos extended beyond Moscow, with several thousand passengers stranded in Russia’s far east due to cancelled flights in European Russia. Additional trains were deployed to transport passengers from St. Petersburg back to Moscow.
Moscow and its surrounding region, home to over 21.5 million people, faced significant travel disruptions as authorities worked to restore normal operations. - Reuters
