Eleven passenger planes flying from Türkiye to Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport turned around in mid-air and returned to Istanbul overnight into Oct. 14. The cause was a temporary restriction on arrivals and departures that Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) imposed at all Moscow airports on the evening of Oct. 13 to ensure flight safety.
According to Flightradar24 data cited by Reuters, the planes that turned back included Turkish Airlines and AJet flights from Istanbul, Antalya, Izmir, Bodrum and Dalaman. Eight Turkish Airlines flights, TK411, TK211, TK409, TK3060, TK3002, TK3036, TK3014 and TK3154, headed to Istanbul Airport, where TK3084 from Dalaman was also expected. AJet flight VF275 from Istanbul and Pegasus flight PC1521 from Izmir were diverted to Istanbul’s Sabiha Gökçen Airport.
Russia’s TASS news agency, citing an air traffic control official, said the crews decided to turn back while over Poland, Lithuania, Belarus and the Pskov region.
Airports reopen in the morning
On the morning of Oct. 14, Rosaviatsia announced that restrictions had been lifted at Vnukovo, Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo and Zhukovsky. Some flights that could not land in Moscow were taken in by alternate airports, including Pulkovo in St. Petersburg. Aeroflot warned of schedule changes, including delayed departures, some cancellations and diversions to alternate airports.
The restrictions were linked to a drone attack on the capital region. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 493 drones flew toward the Moscow region between 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 13 and 7 a.m. on Oct. 14, and 180 of them were destroyed as they approached the city.
Advice for passengers
Passengers with flights between Türkiye and Moscow in the coming days are advised to check their flight status in advance on airline websites and airport online departure boards, as Moscow’s airports have been hit by similar restrictions several times in recent weeks.
