Russian airports hit record closures amid drone threat
Russian civil aviation has faced repeated shutdowns after Ukrainian drone operations triggered airspace restrictions across multiple airports. In August, airports in Russia were temporarily closed 993 times, according to aviation security data, with an average of 32 closures a day. The disruption affected 32 airports, including those serving Moscow and St Petersburg.
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The same data shows 2,182 closures were recorded over the summer, already exceeding the full-year total for 2025. The August figure was described as the most disruptive month for Russian civil aviation since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in early 2022. In the first three days of September, an average of 86 flights a day were cancelled in Russia, according to flight-tracking data cited in the source material.
The closures are linked to the activation of Russia's Kover, or "carpet", protocol, an air defence procedure used when a drone threat is detected in an area. Under the protocol, civil aircraft can be grounded or redirected. The source material says the measure is intended for rare emergencies, but it has been used repeatedly as drone activity has continued.
The disruption matters because it goes beyond short-term delays and points to a wider strain on Russian transport and aviation. A military analyst quoted in the source said the closures are part of a broader strategy of economic exhaustion, alongside higher insurance premiums, the withdrawal of foreign carriers and reduced domestic mobility. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned airlines and insurers on 1 September that Russian airspace was becoming unsafe for civil aviation.
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The source also quotes Andriy Zagorodnyuk, a former Ukrainian defence minister, as saying Ukraine is not seeking to shoot down civilian aircraft but is making Russia's skies unsafe for flying. Russia's transport minister, Andrey Nikitin, said no significant disruptions to civil aviation would be allowed, although the operational figures cited in the report point to continued pressure on the system. The pattern suggests the issue is now affecting routine aviation planning as well as emergency response.
What remains unclear is how long the closures will continue at the current pace and whether the disruption will deepen further in September. The source material does not give a full breakdown of the airports affected on each day, nor does it quantify the longer-term economic cost. What is clear is that repeated drone alerts are forcing Russian aviation to operate under sustained uncertainty, with airports, airlines and passengers all exposed to further disruption.
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