Russia Implements Temporary Flight Restrictions at 14 Airports on June 16

On June 16, 2026, Russia's aviation authority imposed temporary restrictions on aircraft arrivals and departures at fourteen airports across the country in response to unspecified safety concerns. The affected airports included major hubs in Moscow (Sheremetyevo, Vnukovo, Domodedovo, and Zhukovsky), as well as regional facilities in Sochi, Krasnodar, Kaluga, Nizhny Novgorod, Yaroslavl, Kazan, Ulyanovsk, Penza, Cheboksary, and Nizhnegorsk. The restrictions, coordinated through Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviation), were implemented during the night of June 15-16 and resulted in widespread flight cancellations and delays affecting major carriers including Aeroflot, Pobeda, and Turkish Airlines.

By 08:00 Moscow Standard Time, restrictions had been lifted at four airports—Sochi, Krasnodar, Gelendzhik, and Penza. However, seven other airports (Kaluga, Yaroslavl, Kazan, Ulyanovsk, Cheboksary, Nizhnegorsk, and Zhukovsky) continued operating under temporary restrictions. The four Moscow airports—Sheremetyevo, Vnukovo, Domodedovo, and Nizhny Novgorod—transitioned to coordinated operations with relevant authorities, allowing flights to proceed by approval but with potential schedule adjustments.

At Sheremetyevo, one of Moscow's busiest international hubs, dozens of flights were delayed, with departure times pushed back by several hours. Notable delays included flights to Sochi, Krasnodar, Kazan, Gelendzhik, Chelyabinsk, and international destinations such as Beijing, Antalya, and Sharm El-Sheikh. One Aeroflot flight to Kaliningrad was cancelled entirely. Vnukovo experienced similar disruptions, with delayed flights to regional and international destinations including Istanbul, Hurghada, Yerevan, and Dushanbe operated by carriers such as Pobeda, UTair, and Turkish Airlines. Officials stated that all restrictions were implemented to ensure flight safety, though the specific nature of the safety concerns was not publicly disclosed.