Drone and Hacker Attacks in Russia: Mass Train and Flight Disruptions

Photo: ATOR

Escalating Transport Risks

Since May 2025, Russian airports have been closed more than 260 times due to drone threats, while railways have also faced major disruptions. On August 23 alone, over 50 passenger trains were delayed. Air and rail travel in Russia is becoming increasingly unpredictable, exhausting, and risky for passengers.

August Incidents

On the night of August 23, train traffic in the Rostov region was suspended on the Rossosh–Sokhranovka line after a Ukrainian drone crash near Sergeyevka damaged the power grid. Delays lasted about four hours. In the Volgograd region, 13 passenger trains were delayed from a few minutes to two hours due to “illegal interference” in rail operations.

The same day, St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport canceled 25 departures and delayed nearly 70 flights. More than 100 arrivals were also canceled or delayed, affecting a third of all flights. Turkish Airlines canceled a flight from Antalya, while disruptions spread to airports in Kazan, Samara, Nizhny Novgorod, Kaluga, Saratov, and Volgograd.

On August 26, new restrictions were imposed in St. Petersburg and central Russia due to drone threats. At Kaliningrad’s Khrabrovo Airport, 25% of arrivals and 33% of departures were canceled, mostly flights to Moscow. Additional drone incidents were reported overnight on August 27 across several regions.

Major Disruptions in May–July

On May 6–7, one of the largest aviation shutdowns of the year grounded at least 350 flights nationwide, affecting over 60,000 passengers. Some travelers were forced to wait inside planes for 10–17 hours without food or water.

In late July, Aeroflot suffered a massive cyberattack claimed by hacker groups Silent Crow and Cyber Partisans BY. Around 7,000 servers were destroyed, wiping databases, surveillance systems, and employee computers. The stolen data volume was estimated at 12 terabytes, with recovery costs in the tens of millions of dollars. On July 28 alone, 42 flights were canceled from Moscow to destinations across Russia and abroad, including Yerevan, Minsk, and Astana.

Crisis Season

Between May 1 and July 21, 2025, airports across Russia imposed 260+ shutdowns. On average, 30–40 airports per month temporarily suspended operations. Moscow hubs faced the heaviest strain, while Kaluga Airport closed more than 25 times, totaling over 130 hours of downtime.

Peak crisis dates:

May 6 – 12 airports closed simultaneously

June 10 – 13 airports closed

Early July – mass delays at Pulkovo and Sheremetyevo

July 19–20 – 7 airports shut down, with major delays at Sheremetyevo

Experts estimate at least 200,000 passengers were directly affected during the summer season, not counting hundreds of thousands more facing long delays.

Passenger Rights

Air travel: Under Russia’s Air Code, passengers are entitled to water after 2 hours, hot meals after 4 hours, and free hotel accommodation after 6 hours overnight or 8 hours daytime delays — regardless of whether tickets were purchased separately or in a tour package.

Rail travel: Compensation is 3% of ticket price per full hour of delay, capped at the ticket’s cost. Claims must be submitted within 45 days.

However, lawyers warn that full refunds are rarely possible in force majeure cases. Only extended insurance policies (like Optima) may compensate passengers separately.

Prepared by Tatiana Borodina