Russia resumed regular domestic passenger flights to the southern city of Krasnodar on Wednesday, fully reopening a key regional airport that was closed for more than three years due to security concerns linked to the war in Ukraine.
A fully loaded 183-seat Airbus A321 from Moscow operated by Russian flag carrier Aeroflot landed in the city of more than 1.5 million people after a flight of about 3-1/2 hours.
That was about 90 minutes longer than flights before the war, as planes now avoid the airspace near the front line in Ukraine and fly via Volgograd and the Black Sea coast.
Russia closed 11 major airports in its southern and western regions, including those in Kursk, Simferopol and Rostov-on-Don, following the start of its military campaign in Ukraine in February 2022.
Krasnodar, almost 1,200 km (750 miles) from Moscow, is the third of these airports to reopen, following Elista in May 2024 and Gelendzhik in July 2025.
Alexey Buyevich, deputy head of Russia's civil aviation watchdog Rosaviatsiya, said the decision to resume flights was based on an evaluation of the risks.
"We have a working group at Rosaviatsiya that considered all risks, examined flight safety issues and also established safe flight routes," he said, adding that the final decision was made by the Transport Ministry.
Aeroflot said it will operate up to five flights a day from Moscow, as well as services from six other Russian cities, including Saint-Petersburg.
Here's your AnewZ Daily Brief for the 9th of November 2026. From a spy investigation shaking Silicon Valley to rising geopolitical tensions, th...
A passport application might seem an ordinary administrative request. For Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh's ousted prime minister, it could mark the ...
Nvidia has launched an independent investigation into whether its chief executive, Jensen Huang, was targeted in a foreign intelligence operat...
Poland has declared two days of national mourning after a gunman opened fire in Kraków's historic main square. Investigators are examining possible far-right influences and the discovery of three bodies at the suspect's home.
Monday marks the second of two days of national mourning in Poland as police bolstered security after six people were killed in a mass shooting in Kraków.
The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen's Houthis said it intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles fired by the Iran-aligned group towards Riyadh on Sunday (8 November), after loud booms were heard in the Saudi capital. The Aramco building was damaged by falling debris.
New Zealand’s ruling centre-right National Party has taken a narrow lead over the opposition Labour Party in Saturday’s general election, with the country’s current three-party coalition projected to retain power.
Azerbaijan is marking the sixth anniversary of Victory Day on Sunday, 8 November, with President Ilham Aliyev visiting the Victory Monument in Khankendi, laying a wreath and paying tribute to servicemen killed during the 44-day Second Garabagh War in 2020.
Here's your AnewZ Daily Brief for the 9th of November 2026. From a spy investigation shaking Silicon Valley to rising geopolitical tensions, these are the five stories you need to know today.
A passport application might seem an ordinary administrative request. For Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh's ousted prime minister, it could mark the beginning of one of the country's most consequential political homecomings.
Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) will meet in Paris on Monday to assess whether the Democrats' gains in the U.S. midterm elections could influence President Donald Trump's foreign policy, particularly on Ukraine and the Middle East.
At least seven people have been killed and more than 125 injured after two passenger trains collided in Egypt’s Giza province, south of Cairo, on Sunday.
The gunman who allegedly killed six people in Poland’s unprecedented mass shooting in central Kraków on Saturday has died in hospital, police said early Monday. The attacker had demonstrated advanced military-style marksmanship skills, according to a spokesperson for the shooting club he attended.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment