Drone attack on Moscow: hundreds of flights delayed or cancelled

Moscow and the Moscow region came under a massive attack on Friday, October 9: according to Telegram channels, drones and small balloons appeared in the sky over the Russian capital. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported 15 drones shot down, while hundreds of flights were delayed or cancelled at the capital's four airports.

What is known about the attack

The Telegram channel Exilenova+ reported the attack shortly before 3 p.m. According to the channel, an air-raid alert was sounding in Moscow, while air defences were working at full strength in the suburbs and around the city. Later the channel wrote that 300 flights had been delayed or cancelled at Moscow's four airports.

The channel Astra reported that Moscow and the region were attacked by “drones and small balloons”, with residents of various districts writing about explosions and some seeing air defences in action. According to Exilenova+, some objects are attached to the balloons. There is no independent confirmation of this information.

Airport restrictions

As the Interfax agency reports, security restrictions at Sheremetyevo airport were lifted after several hours, while traffic at Moscow's three other airports remains restricted.

The state agency TASS reported that Aeroflot is changing its schedule on October 9 because of temporary restrictions at the airports of the Moscow aviation hub: it is postponing departure times and cancelling some flights. According to the TV channel Nexta, there is chaos at Moscow's airports: more than 370 flights have been delayed, with dozens more cancelled.

Read also: Compensation for delayed and cancelled flights in the EU: up to €600 in 2026

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz