Widespread Transport Disruption Hits Russia Amid New Drone Attacks

«This marks the fourth attack on Zelenograd this week, and likely the most intense. Some entertainment venues and night cafes in the previously targeted part of the city began emptying by around 10:30 PM, as patrons anticipated another attack. In other areas, life seemed normal until after 1:00 AM, when initial reports of explosions emerged. Local chats and news comments rapidly updated with dozens and hundreds of messages. Many people quickly left night restaurants to head home, as if on cue, while others chose to move away from windows towards interior walls. A friend of mine who works at night in her art studio was completely unsure whether to stay or rush home to her frightened, albeit adult, child when the terrifying noise began. The 20th micro-district was among the most affected, where two cars burned simultaneously near a building, and drone debris damaged homes, shattering windows in several city micro-districts. In a building in the 22nd micro-district, a newly developed area, an apartment was directly hit, but fortunately, it was unoccupied and undergoing renovations.»

«Starting around 12:30 or 1:00 AM – that`s for this night, and the previous night – it consistently lasts for about two hours. This is the second time it`s been so intense, right near us. People say they come from the Istra direction, northwest. The explosions are certainly terrifying. My mother, my elder son, and I were sitting in the kitchen and all jumped up; my mother even screamed, it was so unexpected. In the 20th micro-district, people had their windows blown out, and they say the same happened in the 15th, and cars caught fire. Of course, people are in shock; we haven`t properly slept for two nights, going to bed around 3:00 AM. Civilian aircraft started flying again around 3:00 AM. A friend of mine was returning from Kaliningrad and spent five hours stuck in her plane in St. Petersburg because flights weren`t allowed, the sky was closed. She only arrived in the morning. Now, for us, if planes are flying, it means there`s no threat. It’s very scary; you truly don`t know what to expect from all this. We live on the outskirts of Zelenograd, in the 14th micro-district – part of the new town of Kryukovo. Here, in the new town, it`s solely a residential zone; there are no industrial sites or scientific centers, just residential buildings.»

«He was flying to Paris with a connecting flight on Azerbaijan Airlines. Our flight was scheduled for 1 AM, and by that time, we already knew Vnukovo had closed twice. We received a notification that our flight was rescheduled from 1 AM to almost 5 AM. But we didn`t understand how to handle the connecting flight; even though it was the same airline, it was clear we`d miss it. So, we stayed in Moscow, not going to the airport yet, trying to get information from Azerbaijan Airlines. They seemed to imply that the connecting flight probably wouldn`t wait for us, and we`d have to refund or rebook tickets. Then, we got a message that our connecting flight to Paris would also be delayed, meaning they would, in a way, wait for us. We rushed to Vnukovo to the check-in counters, and then Vnukovo airport closed for the third time in 24 hours. Our connecting flight was canceled, but the Moscow to Baku flight wasn`t yet. People couldn`t start getting refunds or rebooking tickets, and this went on until 6 AM. Of course, there was a crowd, shouting, and arguments. Most of those who were supposed to fly to Baku with us were transit passengers heading to Milan or Paris. The issue is you can rebook for another flight, but now the Paris flight would only be available every other day, not daily. We managed, after a struggle and many hours standing at the counter, to rebook tickets, and if all goes well, my son will either fly in two days or go through the same ordeal again. At the airport entrance, things seemed relatively normal, but there were battles at the check-in counters as people tried to figure out what was happening with their flights. Information was scarce until the last minute, whether a flight was canceled or not. For example, the plane that was supposed to take us from Moscow to Baku turned around in the air, and we found out at the last moment. When trying to rebook, you find out there are very few tickets left, so whoever was first at the counter, or the loudest, got theirs.»

«Certainly, there are operational disruptions: sometimes no one is there, then suddenly several aircraft land that had been diverted. Of course, this creates additional complications and difficulties, especially with the increased burden if they are international flights. Even our CIS flights still require passport control. There are disruptive situations in the baggage handling, that`s a problem, but they are managing. However, the greatest difficulties are faced by our air traffic controllers. Their schedules are meticulously coordinated, with specific aircraft expected at certain points at exact times, but in reality, flights are delayed or diverted. This requires rapid changes, and then they all return at once. There`s immense pressure on them. Yes, there are losses, particularly for airlines, because they divert to alternate airports and incur costs for takeoff and landing. And if there`s a prolonged delay, there are charges for terminal use, boarding bridges, or buses – these are additional expenses. We had a similar situation last year, but it seems to have intensified this year. Yet, despite all these disruptions, last year, airlines reported colossal profits, billions, as Rosaviatsia announced. They are likely adapting to these challenges somehow.»

«In this confusion, it`s sometimes very difficult to prioritize because everything depends on the aircraft that are unavailable. For example, a plane flew to an alternate airfield in St. Petersburg instead of Moscow, and now there`s no aircraft to fly from Moscow at all, you see, because they are all stuck in other airports. By the time this plane returns and undergoes technical maintenance, some time passes. So, when an aircraft returns and becomes available for flights, there`s a dilemma: should we transport yesterday`s passengers or today`s? If you carry today`s passengers, you satisfy those departing from Moscow and those flying from St. Petersburg or another city, satisfying two groups. But if you carry those who were delayed yesterday, you satisfy only one group and jeopardize delays for two groups of passengers. This is why such preference is given. However, one also needs to calculate and estimate the numbers. For instance, if there are more delayed passengers from yesterday than those scheduled to fly today, then preference is given to the larger group. This requires intellectual work and the expertise of professionals who consider how to choose the best option from two bad ones, and it`s not always in favor of those who have been delayed.»

«As of today, over 130 trains in southern Russia are experiencing delays ranging from 30 minutes to 15 hours. The situation has only slightly improved in that today, rain replaced the 40-degree Celsius heat, making it a bit easier to breathe and endure the heat. Railway stations are still heavily crowded. Passengers are being provided with still drinking water, instant noodles, and crackers or breadsticks, along with cups and plastic spoons. Many people remain at the stations to wait because SMS alerts and calls from RZD may not reach them, as many have spam filters or mobile fraud protection activated, preventing these SMS messages from reaching them, as they explained to me. Therefore, people prefer to come and wait at the station, listening to the departure boards for their train announcements. Many passengers have even started buying small, foldable fishing chairs for waiting. Stations are operational, security is working, and passengers are not expressing discontent. There don`t appear to be any cases requiring medical assistance. Judging by reports that 50,000 food kits were distributed over two days, you can understand the number of people involved—approximately 50,000 people were affected by this incident over two days.»

«We are currently in Ruzaevka, Mordovia; we`re still moving. There are no more long stops, but we are still delayed by 11 hours. This means we were supposed to arrive in Kazan at 2:30 PM but will arrive around midnight, for example. We`ve been released now, with about a 5-minute stop, and we`re waiting for departure. So far, everything is standard. The `Popular Front` near Likhaya station gave us water, `Agusha` baby food, and instant noodles, and later they brought us canned goods – rice porridge with beef and liver pâté.»

«In total, we were stranded for about 14 hours. Regarding food: we indeed received a packet of `Rollton` noodles and a 0.33L bottle of water by evening. After that, the train quickly started making up time, and we arrived at Kazansky railway station today at 4:15 AM. We were originally supposed to arrive at 7:40 PM yesterday, but that`s how it turned out. Overall, the rest of the journey was relatively normal; the train sped up, trying to catch up on time. There were some stops, and at some, we could even get out, but we traveled from Voronezh to Moscow in about four hours.»