According to Rosaviatsia, temporary restrictions on the arrival and departure of aircraft were imposed at the airports of Saratov, Penza, Samara and Ulyanovsk. The move comes just one day after similar measures affected a wider group of airports across southern and central Russia, underlining how quickly operational disruption is now spreading across the country’s domestic aviation network.

The latest restrictions follow a broader pattern seen on 24 June, when temporary measures were also introduced at airports including Krasnodar, Saratov, Penza, Kaluga, Tambov, Ulyanovsk, Samara, Orenburg and Nizhny Novgorod. Overnight into 25 June, Rosaviatsia also reported restrictions at Sochi Airport, one of the country’s most important summer gateways.

The wider travel impact may extend beyond the affected cities

Although the current restrictions are concentrated in regional airports rather than Moscow or St Petersburg, the cumulative effect can still be significant. Russian domestic aviation relies heavily on network links between regional centres, and interruptions in cities such as Samara, Saratov or Sochi can affect connections, aircraft availability and recovery time across much larger parts of the system.

For now, the latest restrictions appear to be temporary rather than part of a formal long-term shutdown. But with repeated airport suspensions now hitting multiple regions within a matter of days, Russia’s domestic flight network is entering the peak summer period under growing operational strain.