Series of UAV attacks prompt Russia to ban small aircraft flights in several regions

Flights by small aircraft over the city of Moscow and several Russian oblasts have been restricted from 20 June, in a move that has hit pilot training centres and the wider personnel training system.

Source: Meduza, an independent Russian news outlet

Details: The restrictions concern light and ultralight aircraft as well as civilian drones.

Rosaviatsiya, Russia's federal air transport agency, said the restrictions will be introduced over the capital, most of Moscow Oblast and parts of Ryazan, Tula, Kaluga, Tver, Yaroslavl and Vladimir oblasts.

The restrictions do not apply to state-owned or experimental aircraft. Scheduled and charter flights will also continue to operate.

The ban will remain in force "until further notice".

Light and ultralight aircraft are not capable of climbing above five kilometres because of their design features.

The Interregional Public Organisation of Pilots and Aircraft Owners reported in late May that such a ban was planned. Russian newspaper Kommersant also wrote that dozens of airfields are located in the zone where flights will be banned and that the restrictions will affect around 1,000 private pilots.

Industry representatives said Russian training centres that prepare pilots face the threat of closure, along with the entire personnel training system. They said "the whole infrastructure will also fall into decline: airfields, schools and even hotels built nearby, which were opened with weekend flights at the airfield in mind".

Background:

• The Russian authorities reported a drone attack on Moscow on the morning of 16 June. According to the city's mayor, an oil refinery was damaged and a fire broke out at the site.
• Earlier, the operational headquarters of Russia's Krasnodar Krai reported a drone attack on an oil depot. It said a fire broke out at an oil depot in the village of Poltavskaya.

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