Airport Transport Collapse: How Long Will It Last?
Russian airports have experienced one of the largest transport collapses: hundreds of thousands of people are stuck in air harbors. Why are flights being cancelled and what to do in such a situation? Should you postpone your vacation or are there options to get to the sea this summer without losses?
By the morning of Monday, July 7, 2025, 485 flights were cancelled at Russian airports, 88 planes were diverted to alternate sites, and 1,900 flights were delayed on departure and arrival. These are the results of the catastrophic disruptions to the operation of airports over the past weekend.
Over the weekend, 485 flights were cancelled at Russian airports, and 1,900 planes were delayed. Photo: 1MI
Airspace was closed in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kaluga, Nizhny Novgorod, Pskov and Tambov. Russians have become accustomed to the fact that flights can be delayed due to temporary airport closures, but now a real collapse has occurred.
Transport collapse at Russia's largest airports. Photo: TASS. Sergey Karpushin
According to Rosaviatsia, 43 thousand forced ticket refunds were processed over these two days, 94 thousand people were temporarily accommodated in hotels, 199 thousand were provided with drinks, and 155 thousand were provided with food.
Video: Telegram. The transport collapse of July 5–6 was a test for both passengers and airports
In this situation, Rosaviatsia reports that everything is fine:
— The Russian air transport system has demonstrated resilience to external interference. Airline companies have sufficient resources to operate in the current conditions.
Rosaviatsia representatives said that the actions taken during the transport collapse were correct. Photo: 1MI
But passengers say otherwise. People are faced with airline representatives hiding from the crowd, giving contradictory testimony and refusing to accommodate those whose flights have been cancelled and delayed in hotels due to a shortage of places. And because mobile Internet is blocked , there is no way to find out up-to-date information or to urgently search for alternative routes and tickets.
How to get to your destination without losing a lot of money is the main question for stranded passengers. It is especially difficult for those who fly with transfers to another airline or other transport (train, bus, etc.), because in this case no one will return the money for the burned tickets.
Due to the collapse that has been created, even the railway cannot cope with the flow of people. Russian Railways has increased the number of passenger seats on the route between Moscow and St. Petersburg for July 6–8: double Sapsan trains are running, carriages have been added to regular trains. But ATOR reports that there are still not enough seats for everyone. The last to be sold were the most expensive tickets, the price of which reached 68 thousand rubles.
Due to the collapse at the airports, the prices of train tickets have increased. Photo: 1MI
At the same time, judging by the news, there were no record-breaking drone attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces these days. The UAVs were flying in dozens, but not in hundreds, as was the case before. But history knows more than one case when air defense forces mistakenly shot down a passenger plane.
In 2001, a Tu-154 of Siberia Airlines, flying from Tel Aviv to Novosibirsk, crashed over the Black Sea. It was shot down by the Ukrainian air defense system during exercises in Crimea. 78 people died.
In 2014, a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down by a Buk missile over the Donetsk region of Ukraine. The crash caused a powerful international resonance, but the main thing is that 283 people died.
In 2020, Iranian air defenses mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian Boeing 737. Photo: Hossein Mersadi / Wikimedia
In 2020, an Iranian Air Force base fired a missile at a Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 that had just taken off. The launch occurred due to “human error” while the armed forces were on high alert. The cost of such an error was the lives of 176 people.
And we must not forget about the Embraer E190 crash near Aktau, Kazakhstan. The investigation has not been officially completed and there is no confirmation of the guilt of the Russian air defense forces (the crash occurred after an unsuccessful attempt to land at Grozny airport during a UAV attack). But numerous holes were found on the fuselage, and the Azerbaijani publication Minval published an explanatory note from the air defense captain who launched the missile.
The reliability of such information, which appeared against the backdrop of worsening Russian-Azerbaijani relations, should be treated with skepticism. But neither the military nor Rosaviatsia want to allow the possibility of such disasters to happen again. Therefore, there are still grounds for canceling flights.
And it is unlikely that someone's burned tickets will become a weighty argument for changing the established practice. Even despite the collapse.
On July 7, it became known that Transport Minister Roman Starovoyt had committed suicide. Photo: @roman_starovoyt
Today's news about the resignation and subsequent suicide of Transport Minister Roman Starovoit gave rise to discussions - supposedly, "at the top" they condemned the airport Armageddon... But almost immediately it became clear that Starovoit may be a suspect in a criminal case related to his activities as governor of the Kursk region. So there is no reason to expect alternatives to canceling flights for now.
Carriers always have a choice: simply delay the flight or cancel it. In this case, the airline is obliged to refund the money for the ticket. Or the passenger can agree to fly on another plane.
In case of flight cancellation, airlines are obliged to refund money for tickets. Photo: 1MI
Remember: you don't have to agree to an alternative flight; in case of cancellation, you can safely demand a refund from the airline representatives.
And if a flight is delayed, passengers are entitled to free drinks, food and hotel accommodation. For airlines, all of these are big expenses, and no one wants to bear them.
Airline representatives are generally slow to reach out to passengers when flights are cancelled. Photo: 1MI
Therefore, the absence of airline representatives on site and excuses about the lack of hotel rooms are not accidental.
In any case, the order of actions and appeals is as follows. First, you need to try to find a representative of the airline at the airport to obtain information. You probably won’t be able to find such a person. Calls to the airline may also not give an immediate result. It is necessary to record the carrier’s inaction on video.
In case of controversial moments, the actions of the air carrier must be recorded on video. Photo: Sergey Karpushin. TASS
At the earliest opportunity, send the airline a written request (e-mail will do) to return the money for the ticket. And don't forget to find out the reason for the cancellation or delay of the plane. If the flight did not take place due to the unpreparedness of the crew or the plane, then it is the airline's fault - you are entitled to additional compensation. Tickets for a connecting flight could have been lost, a vacation package could have been lost, paid treatment could have been cancelled: the airline should pay for all of this.
But the closure of airspace due to a drone attack is not the carrier's fault. Therefore, carefully read the reason for the flight cancellation and save all documents confirming expenses and loss of money. Lawyer Zemfira Kashapova reminded us of the rules for filing a claim with a demand.
— You can file a claim within six months from the scheduled departure date of the previously cancelled flight. It is recommended to involve a lawyer in the case. Most likely, the carrier will claim that the cancellation was not their fault, so you may need the help of a specialist.
If you were unable to independently negotiate compensation for a flight delay with the airline, you should contact Rospotrebnadzor. Photo: 1MI
If the airline does not respond to the submitted application, then send complaints to Rospotrebnadzor and Rosaviatsia. This may be an effective measure, but if it does not help, then you are on the direct road to court.
Demanding compensation is often the only thing that is left for unlucky passengers. In Russia, unfortunately, there is a very low density of large airports with a developed route network.
To fly out on vacation in the summer of 2025 on the scheduled day, you will have to choose alternative airports. Photo: 1MI
If you want to protect yourself from airport closures, you should immediately look for flights from safer places: Kazan, Yekaterinburg or even Minsk. Buses and trains go there. The detour is big, but there are often no other options. The route will be extended, but by choosing direct flights, if planes are delayed this summer from the country's largest cities, you risk spending much more time, nerves and money.
Tickets for southern trains for summer 2025 have long been sold out. Photo: 1MI
Train tickets to the south, for example, have long been sold out, and you can't travel far and comfortably by bus. When going on vacation in the summer of 2025, choose to travel by your own car.
This is the most reliable option. And if you can't do without a plane, then plan your route so that a day's delay doesn't ruin everything.
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