Ukrainian Drones Ground Moscow Flights for Up to Nine Hours Daily
The Russian aviation authority's 'carpet' protocol closes airspace over major Moscow airports almost every day in October due to drone activity.
By Jennifer Paige ·
Moscow's four main airports have suspended operations almost daily in October, with closures lasting up to nine hours on some days.
The disruption stems from a safety procedure that halts all air traffic when unidentified objects appear in the sky, a protocol that has become routine for Russian aviation officials.
In February 2022, Ukraine closed its own airspace following Russia's full-scale invasion, a move that set the stage for the current standoff in the skies above Russia.
By early September, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared that Ukraine would seek to cut off the airspace around Moscow and other Russian destinations.
Zelenskyy warned airlines, insurers, and travelers directly that Russian airspace would become completely unsafe, a message Ukraine reinforced with a warning to the International Civil Aviation Organization the next day.
The immediate trigger for groundings is the 'carpet' protocol managed by Rosaviatsiya, Russia's aviation authority.
This protocol closes airspace over a region or around affected airports if an aircraft violates Russian airspace, weapons are used, or unidentified objects appear in the sky, imposing strict limits on all air traffic.
Oleksandr Laneckij, chief executive of the consultancy Friendly Avia Support, noted that essentially every drone poses a military threat, comparing the situation to the disruption caused by Yemen's Houthis in Saudi airspace.
Laneckij argued that Ukraine's military capabilities far exceed those of the Houthis, making the current disruption more severe than previous regional conflicts.
Military analyst Jan Matvejev stated that Ukraine can severely disrupt air traffic around Moscow without fully closing Russian airspace, as triggering the protocol requires only simple drones without warheads or long range.
Matvejev pointed out that Ukraine's arms industry can produce hundreds of combat-ready long-range drones a day, a capacity that allows for sustained pressure on Russian air defenses.
Simon Shuster, writing in The Atlantic in October, cited well-informed sources to suggest that Ukraine's efforts are just getting started, indicating that the current phase is an early stage of a longer campaign.
Source: Deutsche Welle
