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Ten flights diverted to alternate airports during overnight closure of two Moscow airports

It is stressed that flight crews and ground services were taking the necessary security measures while the restrictions were in place

MOSCOW, August 10. /TASS/. Ten flights were diverted to alternate airports last night when Moscow’s Vnukovo and Domodedovo airports had to be closed due to reports of drone activity, Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency said in a statement on Telegram.

Earlier today, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said that two combat drones flying towards Moscow had been downed by air defenses at about 4:00 a.m. (1:00 a.m. GMT). One of them was shot down in the Kaluga Region and the other near Moscow’s Central Ring Road.

"Restrictions on inbound and outbound flights were lifted at Vnukovo and Domodedovo airports at 5:25 a.m. Moscow time. Ten aircraft landed at alternate airports because of the restrictions. The crews of another six flights recalculated their routes while in the air, assessed whether they had enough fuel, changed their flight plans in coordination with air traffic control and landed at their destination airports after the restrictions were lifted," the Russian aviation authority pointed out.

Flight crews and ground services were taking the necessary security measures while the restrictions were in place, the agency stressed.