Since mid-May 2026, Russia has not had a single day when all airports operated without restrictions due to the threat of drones, according to an analysis by Meduza of data from the Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya). The last time all air hubs operated normally was May 12.
The number of airports simultaneously closed has also increased. In mid-2025, the peak was 15 facilities (before May 9), but a year later it approached 20. On average in 2026, restrictions disrupt schedules at seven airports per day, compared to four a year earlier.
The airports in Sochi and Kazan, as well as Moscow's Domodedovo and Vnukovo, have been hit hardest. In the first half of 2026, Sochi's airport was temporarily closed 70 days — an absolute anti-record. Kazan, where restrictions were imposed for 51 days, ceded the lead; last year the Tatarstan capital had 32 such days.
Among the 20 largest airports, those in Siberia and the Far East — Vladivostok (Knevichi), Irkutsk, Novosibirsk (Tolmachevo), and Khabarovsk — have suffered the fewest disruptions. In the first half of 2026, they had no days with drone-threat restrictions. Kaliningrad's Khrabrovo airport saw such measures only once, compared to five abnormal days in 2025.
The rise in flight delays and cancellations coincides with the increase in airport restrictions, but a precise causal link cannot be established due to a lack of detailed data, Meduza notes. The Transport Ministry does not publish statistics on delays and cancellations and refuses to provide them in response to media requests.
According to Kommersant, citing data from the insurance company AlfaStrakhovanie, airlines in 2026 delayed flights twice as often and canceled them four times as often compared to 2025. However, other events affecting air travel also occurred during this period: the war of the US and Israel against Iran, which caused mass flight cancellations to the Middle East, and abnormal snowfall that affected the Moscow aviation hub.