Due to limitations on departures and arrivals at Moscow airports, 62 flights have been called off.
On May 28, 2025, Moscow's airports underwent significant disruptions due to flight restrictions instated amidst a Ukrainian drone attack targeting the city and its surrounding areas. As a result, 55 aircraft were diverted to alternative airports.
According to data from Yandex Schedule at 11:15 Moscow time, the most cancellations were recorded at Sheremetyevo Airport, where 38 departures slated for May 28 were cancelled, primarily flights operated by Aeroflot. The airline's press service reportedsome of Aeroflot's flights were diverted to alternative airports or faced delays due to the restrictions, and they alluded to forced alterations in the schedule, including cancellations and consolidations of several flights.
Restrictions on the operation of Moscow's airports were implemented overnight on May 28. In Domodedovo, the restrictions were in effect from 23:50 Moscow time on May 27, whereas Vnukovo and Zhukovsky experienced the restrictions from 01:10 Moscow time, and Sheremetyevo from 03:15 Moscow time. The restrictions were lifted at 07:15 Moscow time in all four airports, as confirmed by a Rosaviatsiya representative in his Telegram channel.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin and the Governor of the Moscow region, Andrei Vorobyov, reported that overnight, air defense systems had shot down a combined total of 75 drones approaching Moscow. As per the Ministry of Defense, a total of 296 drones were shot down and intercepted over 12 Russian regions from 21:00 Moscow time on May 27 to 07:00 Moscow time on May 28.
Recent weeks have seen repeated disruptions at Moscow's airports during similar drone strikes. While reports of such incidents occurred in previous months and years, the May 28, 2025 disruption was directly attributed to the latest wave of Ukrainian drone attacks and the related security and flight measures imposed by Russian authorities[2][1][4]. There are no records of a similar cause or scale for May 28, 2023, in available sources[4][2][1].
Despite the chaos caused by the Ukrainian drone attack on May 28, 2025, disrupting Moscow's airports, the finance industry was significantly impacted due to flight cancellations and delays affecting various airlines, particularly Aeroflot. Moreover, the transportation sector also bore the brunt of these disruptions as alternative routes were sought for the diverted flights.
