Flight disruptions cost Russian carriers billions as Ukrainian drone attacks intensify

Recent mass flight delays and cancellations across major Russian airports have caused an estimated 20 billion ruble (€210 million) in losses for Russian airlines, according to experts and industry sources cited by Russian news outlet Kommersant.

The disruption, which unfolded over the weekend of 5–6 July, paralysed operations at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo, St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo, and Nizhny Novgorod’s Strigino airports. Russia’s Federal Aviation Agency Rosaviatsia reported on Monday that a total of 485 flights had been grounded across these airports since Saturday, with nearly 2,000 more delayed.

The aviation collapse coincided with one of the largest coordinated drone attacks on Russian territory since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022. Russia’s Defence Ministry claimed that 120 Ukrainian drones were intercepted between 5 and 6 July across multiple regions. The strikes also reportedly targeted the Borisoglebsk airfield in Russia’s western Voronezh region, damaging a warehouse containing guided bombs, aircraft, and other military assets.

Ukraine has not officially commented, but the drone campaign is widely seen as part of Kyiv’s broader strategy to disrupt Russian military infrastructure and logistics well beyond the front lines. Serhiy Bratchuk, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Defense Army’s Southern Division, told The Kyiv Independent in May that disruptions in aviation could increase the risk of “regional disintegration and public unrest”.

According to Kommersant, the cancellation of a single flight on a Boeing 737–800 — one of Russia’s most commonly used aircraft — can result in losses of 15 to 23 million rubles (€160,000–€245,000), depending on the route. These figures include fuel, airport services, crew costs, and lost revenue. Diverting a flight adds another 1.5 to 2 million rubles (€16,000–€21,000) per aircraft for every four hours of delay, the outlet wrote.

Russia’s aviation sector has faced mounting difficulties since the invasion of Ukraine and the imposition of Western sanctions, which have restricted access to aircraft parts and maintenance services. Although the current crisis has not been officially attributed to the conflict, the growing reach of Ukrainian drone operations is adding new strains to an already embattled industry.