At least 15 planes bound for Moscow were sent to alternate airports as flight restrictions took effect, airport representatives said.
Domodedovo said Kazan and Sheremetyevo received four flights from Dushanbe, Yerevan, Kaliningrad and Sochi. Vnukovo redirected 11 aircraft arriving from Istanbul, Antalya, Izmir, Dubai, Tbilisi and Bodrum. Most were sent to St. Petersburg, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod and Minsk.
Restrictions affected Zhukovsky, Domodedovo and Vnukovo. Earlier, Turkish Airlines turned a flight from Istanbul back to Turkey before it could land at Vnukovo. Russia’s aviation authority said the measures were needed to ensure flight safety.
Airport operations changed during the evening. At 8:47 p.m. Moscow time, Interfax reported that Domodedovo was handling arrivals and departures subject to coordination with relevant authorities. Passengers were advised to check with their airlines for the latest flight status.