In the early morning of the 23rd, many Chinese tourists stranded at the Moscow airport said that due to Ukrainian drones invading Moscow’s airspace, Moscow flights were widely delayed. They had been stranded at the airport for several hours and were very anxious. On the morning of the 23rd, a passenger on flight CZ342 from Moscow to Beijing told Jimu News that she and her friends had been stranded at the Moscow Airport for 10 hours and were expected to board the plane at 11:00 Beijing time. They were worried about not being able to make it to work. A customer service staff member of China Southern Airlines said that the flight was delayed due to public safety reasons and there is currently no compensation measure.
Screenshots of netizen posts
According to a post by a netizen, a notice at the Moscow airport showed that due to Ukrainian drones invading Moscow's airspace, Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport was temporarily closed, and China Southern Airlines flight CZ341 was diverted to Gorky Airport for refueling. Flight CZ342 is expected to be delayed for 6 hours. Boarding time to be determined. Each passenger is issued a 4,000 ruble meal voucher. Many Chinese tourists said they were also stranded at the Moscow airport and felt very anxious.
Screenshots of netizen posts
On the morning of the 23rd, the netizen Ms. Huang told Jimu News reporter that she traveled to Russia during the Spring Festival holiday. Affected by the Ukrainian drone attack, flights to Moscow were widely delayed. Her flight CZ342 was originally scheduled to take off at 19:00 local time on the 22nd. So far, she has been stranded at the Moscow Airport for 10 hours and is expected to board the plane at 7:00 local time on the 23rd. "I received two delayed text messages, and I felt very anxious. There were many Chinese people in the airport. Everyone was very tired and lay together. We didn't dare to sleep, so we just sat on the chairs and wanted to go home. After all, there was a 5-hour time difference, and there were a lot of things to do when we got back, and we were worried that we would not be able to catch up with work." Ms. Huang said.
Another passenger on China Eastern Airlines flight MU592 told Jimu News reporter that she was stranded at the airport for nearly nine hours and has now boarded the plane. News of flight delays were updated many times, and she was very worried. "There are many Chinese people at the airport, and most of them are rushing back to work on the plane," she said. A reporter from Jimu News found that the flight had taken off from Moscow.
Jimu News reporter contacted China Southern Airlines regarding this matter. A customer service staff said that flight CZ342 was late due to public safety reasons for the previous flight, which resulted in the delay of subsequent flights. The flight is expected to take off at noon on February 23, Beijing time. Regarding follow-up measures, customer service said that the delay was caused by force majeure factors and was not caused by China Southern Airlines. No additional compensation is currently available. The flight manager showed that the flight will take off at 7:06 am on the 23rd (12:06 Beijing time).
According to the Global Times, the Russian Ministry of Defense stated on the 22nd that as of 20:00, the Russian air defense system had intercepted and shot down 360 Ukrainian drones that day, of which more than 20 drones flew to Moscow.
The Russian Ministry of Defense posted on social media that day that from early morning to 20:00 on the 22nd, the Russian air defense system intercepted and shot down 360 Ukrainian drones over the Bryansk Oblast, Kaluga Oblast, Belgorod Oblast, Tula Oblast, Kursk Oblast, Smolensk Oblast, Tver Oblast and Moscow Oblast. More than 20 of them flew to Moscow. In addition, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported that day that in retaliation for Ukraine’s attacks on Russian civilian infrastructure, in the past 24 hours, the Russian military used ground and air long-range precision weapons and drones to launch large-scale attacks on Ukraine’s military-industrial complex and military energy infrastructure.
