Russian airports halt flights under 'Carpet' as drones loom
A large-scale Russian attack on Ukraine triggered an air alert across the country on Tuesday morning. However, it wasn't just a challenging morning for Ukrainians. Russians also encountered issues. Due to a drone attack, the "Carpet" plan was implemented at several airports in Russia.
What is the "Carpet" plan? It involves the suspension of air operations at an airport. It's activated when "potentially dangerous objects" are observed in the sky. The plan mandates that all aircraft in the airspace must land or leave the threatened area. No aircraft are permitted to take off from an airport under the "Carpet" plan.
According to the BAZA channel on Telegram, the "Carpet" plan was announced in the morning at airports in Makhachkala (the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Dagestan), Ulyanovsk (Ulyanovsk Oblast - located about 800 kilometres east of Moscow), Saratov (Saratov Oblast - near the Engels airbase), Vladikavkaz (the capital of the Republic of North Ossetia), Grozny (Chechnya), and Kazan (the capital of Tatarstan).
Ukrainian drone attack?
The closure of most airports for "safety reasons" was also confirmed by the Ria Novosti agency.
BAZA reports that the actual reason for implementing the "Carpet" plan was Ukrainian drone attacks. For instance, authorities in North Ossetia reported shooting down two drones in the region: one over the Shalkhi training ground, the other in the Prigorodny city area. An air alert was even announced in this area in the morning.
After a few hours, operations at all airports were resumed.
The Russian Ministry of Defense reported in the morning that it shot down 68 Ukrainian drones in Russia. They also claimed to have destroyed 8 unmanned drones.
Source: Telegram/BAZA, ria.ru
