SVO: Drone Attacks Shut All Four Moscow Airports Overnight, 160+ Flights Cancelled

MOSCOW, Russia — October 16, 2026. Drone attacks forced all four Moscow airports, including Sheremetyevo (SVO), to suspend flights overnight into Friday, with each closed for up to seven hours and more than 160 flights cancelled.

What happened

Sheremetyevo (SVO), Vnukovo (VKO), Domodedovo (DME) and Zhukovsky (ZIA) all halted operations overnight, each for up to seven hours.
More than 160 flights were cancelled. Exact reopening times: TBA (not published).
Moscow’s mayor said 94 drones heading for the capital were shot down.
St Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport (LED) was also halted twice the same night.
Russian outlet Agentstvo reported that Moscow’s four airports were closed for a combined 101 hours in the first 14 days of October, against 46 hours in all of September.
Euronews said it could not independently verify these figures.

What it means for non-revs

Overnight closures are now a pattern. With closures more than doubling month on month, Moscow schedules are unreliable, particularly for late-evening and overnight flights.
Expect rebooked passengers to fill the next flights. After a night of cancellations, standby seats on morning departures from Moscow are likely to be scarce.
Have a fallback. If your itinerary passes through Moscow or St Petersburg, check your airline’s status before leaving and know your options if the airport closes while you are there.