ASTRAKHAN. July 9 (Interfax) - Russia's Astrakhan airport has restricted flight arrivals and departures and delayed a flight operated by Aeroflot following a drone attack, an airport spokesperson told Interfax.
"The Aeroflot air carrier's SU1173 flight from Astrakhan has been delayed due to restrictions imposed on the use of the region's airspace. The airport has now restricted arrivals and departures," the spokesperson said.
According to the airport's online timetable, Aeroflot's SU1173 flight takes off from Astrakhan and lands in Moscow (Sheremetyevo Airport). The departure of another flight - Aeroflot SU1679 Astrakhan-Moscow (Sheremetyevo Airport) - has also been delayed. Delayed flight arrivals include SCAT Airlines DV 835 Aktau (Kazakhstan)-Astrakhan, Pobeda DP 6961 Moscow (Sheremetyevo Airport)-Astrakhan, and Aeroflot SU1678 Moscow (Sheremetyevo Airport)-Astrakhan.
Russian Federal Air Transport Agency spokesperson Artyom Korenyako, for his part, said that temporary flight restrictions at the Astrakhan airport were introduced from 3:55 a.m. Moscow time.
The Astrakhan region's Governor Igor Babushkin said on his Telegram channel last night that a drone attack had been repelled over the region's northern districts. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, five drones were destroyed over the Astrakhan region.
Astrakhan's Kustodiyev International Airport has a federal status.
Its passenger traffic dropped 7.4% to 774,027 passengers in 2023 year-on-year.