Volgograd and Sochi airports are closed to aircraft

Rosaviatsiya temporarily closed the airports in Sochi and Volgograd to flights. Shortly after the flight ban, the mayor of Sochi announced the lifting of the drone alert, although residents had previously heard a series of explosions. 

As reported by the " Caucasian Knot ," Volgograd Airport suspended flight operations on the night of December 8. Drone debris fell in Volgograd's Traktorozavodsky District, damaging apartment buildings and forcing residents to evacuate.

Rosaviatsiya spokesman Artem Korenyako announced on his Telegram channel that Sochi and Volgograd airports were temporarily closed to flights. He announced the restrictions at Sochi airport at 1:24 a.m. Moscow time, and announced the closure of Volgograd airport at 1:43 a.m. Moscow time. 

“The restrictions are necessary to ensure flight safety,” he wrote. 

Sochi Mayor Andrei Proshunin announced a drone threat at 1:34 a.m. Moscow time. Less than 20 minutes later, at 1:51 a.m. Moscow time, the mayor announced that the drone alert had been lifted and the threat was over. However, shortly before this, local residents heard a series of explosions: at least five explosions were heard in the Lazarevsky District of Sochi and neighboring Tuapse, and flashes were visible in the sky over the Black Sea, SHOT reported at 1:48 a.m. Moscow time, citing residents.

As of 2:49 a.m. Moscow time, there was no announcement regarding the lifting of restrictions at Sochi Airport. According to the airport's online flight information board, flights to Moscow and Samarkand, scheduled for 1:30 a.m. and 2:00 a.m. Moscow time, respectively, are delayed. The flight from Samarkand has not yet landed in Sochi; it is delayed by more than two hours. Volgograd Airport's schedule does not list flights later than 10:40 p.m. or earlier than 9:45 a.m. Moscow time.

Since early December, airports in southern Russia, including in the North Caucasus republics, have been regularly implementing flight restrictions. On December 9, airports in Chechnya, Ingushetia, and North Ossetia were closed for nearly 14 hours straight, and Nalchik Airport was also closed for an extended period . In the Volgograd region, drone threat alerts became daily back in October, but actual drone attacks are not always preceded by a warning, according to  local residents previously interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot."