The situation at Moscow airports, where dozens of flights have been delayed again due to drone attacks, is “slightly better than it was in May,” said new Transport Minister Andrei Nikitin, who was appointed to the post after the death of his predecessor Roman Starovoit.

According to Nikitin, it is impossible to predict when the “Kover” (Carpet) plan, which provides for the closure of the sky, will be introduced, but “airports are adapting: they are organizing food and rest services.”

"Our colleagues are analyzing their work. And, I think, in general, there is some progress. But overall, neither airports nor airlines can predict this [the introduction of the “Kover” plan]. We will, of course, work with our colleagues from the Ministry of Defense to try to do something. But safety is paramount here. We understand the inconvenience and discomfort, but no one will risk the safety of passengers," Nikitin said, as reported by Interfax.

The restrictions were introduced the previous evening at all four Moscow airports (Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, Vnukovo, Zhukovsky), as well as at the airport in Nizhny Novgorod. Dozens of flights were delayed at Sheremetyevo.

Rosaviatsiya reported that the boarding and departure procedures at Sheremetyevo Airport had been temporarily changed and were being carried out “in agreement with the relevant authorities.”

Restrictions at Moscow airports were lifted only in the early morning, but delays spread to other regions. Nine flights to Moscow were delayed at airports in Vladivostok, Khabarovsk, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, and Sakhalin, with more than 2,700 passengers awaiting departure, according to the Far Eastern Transport Prosecutor's Office