TASS: Vnukovo International Airport closes airspace following drone sighting

The airspace above Moscow’s Vnukovo airport is closed after a drone was allegedly spotted in the area, reports TASS, citing emergency services.

The airport’s press service, however, told RIA Novostsi that Vnukovo is operating normally and its airspace is open. The news agency, citing a source in aviation, had previously also reported that a drone prompted the airport to close its airspace.

Data from the flight tracking service Flightradar24 shows that there are no planes flying in the area.

“Law enforcement agencies received reports of an unidentified unmanned aircraft in the sky above Vnukovo airport. The airspace was closed for security reasons,” a source told TASS.

The Telegram channel Ostorozhno, Moskva said that reports of the drone emerged around 6 p.m. Moscow time. As a result, several departures were delayed by an hour. Incoming flights to Vnukovo from Petersburg’s Pulkovo airport were also held.

Passengers on one flight from Petersburg said that after they were seated the captain announced that they couldn’t take off. “They said that something was discovered above Vnukovo, and so the flight from Pulkova was delayed for a certain time until they figured out what it was,” said one passenger.