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Moscow’s Vnukovo, Domodedovo Airports work in standard mode after attempted drone attack

Six flights were redirected to alternative airports, after the lifting of restrictions on the use of airspace, passengers were taken to destination airports

MOSCOW, August 20. /TASS/. Moscow’s Vnukovo and Domodedovo International Airports are operating in line with a standard mode following an attempted drone attack, Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency said in a statement on Sunday.

"Early this morning, August 20, 2023, flights to Moscow's Vnukovo and Domodedovo Airports were temporarily restricted in order to provide for the safety of civil aircraft flights," the Russian aviation authority pointed out.

Six flights were diverted to alternate airports - three flights to the Moscow Sheremetyevo International Airport, two flights to the airport in the city of Nizhny Novgorod and one flight to the airport in Saint Petersburg.

After the restrictions on the use of the air space were lifted at 4:03 a.m. Moscow time all passengers of the flights at the issue were delivered to the airports of their scheduled destination.

"As of now, airports in Moscow (Vnukovo, Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo) and in the Moscow Region (Zhukovsky) are operating in a standard mode," the Federal Air Transport Agency added.

Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin announced earlier in the day that "A drone coming from the south attempted to fly over Moscow in the early hours of Sunday. It was downed by Air Defense Forces."

On August 18, air defenses also hit a Ukrainian drone that was trying to attack targets in Moscow. Its wreckage fell near the Expocenter exhibition center in the downtown neighborhood of high-rise office buildings known as the Moscow City. No casualties or significant damage were reported then.

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