Pashinyan’s plane could not land at Moscow airport

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s plane was forced to land in St. Petersburg after failing to receive permission to land in Moscow. The ACJ319 aircraft circled over the Tver region for about an hour waiting for a landing window, but was eventually redirected to Pulkovo Airport.

The disruption in air traffic was caused by one of the largest drone attacks on the Moscow region in recent times. According to the Ministry of Defense, air defense forces shot down 32 UAVs over the Moscow suburbs overnight. Residents reported hearing explosions in Zelenograd, Ramenskoye, Odintsovo, and Dubna.

As a result of the attack, four major Moscow airports—Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, Vnukovo, and Zhukovsky—imposed temporary flight restrictions. This led to delays or cancellations of more than 170 flights. A significant number of aircraft were diverted to the reserve airfield at Pulkovo.