Major disruptions to air traffic at Russian airports on July 5-6 resulted in billions of rubles in losses for airlines. Passengers reported significant frustration due to a lack of timely information, extremely long queues, and increased ticket prices. Legal professionals caution that retrieving funds could be a lengthy process, sometimes only achievable through court intervention.
Aeroflot announced that its schedule had stabilized following the transport collapse. However, the airline noted that the situation for its subsidiary `Rossiya` at Pulkovo Airport would improve by Tuesday morning. Earlier, Rosaviatsiya, the federal air transport agency, released statistics on cancelled and delayed flights nationwide.
According to Rosaviatsiya`s data, between July 5 and the morning of July 7, a total of 485 flights were cancelled, 88 were diverted to alternate airports, and nearly 2,000 experienced delays. During this period, airlines processed 43,000 involuntary ticket refunds.
Maria, a Moscow resident, shared her experience of a flight from Sheremetyevo to Ufa that was repeatedly delayed over 12 hours before being cancelled. After enduring lengthy queues at the airport, she received documentation for a refund:
“I was directed to the Aeroflot ticket counter area in Terminal C, where employees were handling this. There was a massive queue of people, each with their own issues: some needed to rebook, some needed information… Basically, people were completely misinformed, it was absolute chaos – nobody knew or understood anything, and everyone came seeking at least one source of information. An Aeroflot employee came out and said, `Yes, dear passengers, those flying from Moscow on non-transit flights that were cancelled today, please proceed to the ticket counter area to process refunds. Tickets for today`s cancelled flights will be fully refunded – 100% of the ticket cost will be compensated. As for other tickets, you will need to purchase those yourselves.` For those whose original ticket from Moscow to, say, Ufa cost 7,000 rubles, and tomorrow it costs 40,000 – this is very burdensome.”
Alena recounted a similar situation trying to depart from Pulkovo Airport. Although the online departure board showed her flight was cancelled, the hotline indicated it would operate, so she went to the airport, describing the scene as “apocalyptic”:
“There was just one employee sitting there, and an indescribable number of people – in that office, as in other offices, as everywhere basically. They just stamped our itinerary receipts saying the flight was cancelled, because without these stamps, no one would issue a refund. That was it. They offered to exchange tickets. For that, you needed to go to the ticket counter and wait in line. We asked people who were already near the front of the queue – they had been standing for over six hours. We checked aggregators to see if there were any flights at all today, tomorrow, etc. – no, no flights. Where were we flying? Nowhere – only through Moscow with some crazy connections. So we just bought tickets for Wednesday, came to a hotel, extended our stay – and that`s it. Now we will apply for a refund.”
Estimates suggest the weekend`s transport chaos could cost airlines around 20 billion rubles, stemming partly from the 43,000 forced refunds. Passengers might face delays in receiving their money, potentially waiting longer than expected, warns lawyer and tourism expert Eduard Shalonosov:
“They will take a long time to refund the money. Let me explain why. The airline intended to fly, the plane arrived at the airport, the plane was loaded, the airport took X percent of the ticket price for cleaning, handling, loading – let`s say, 25-30% went to all service fees. Now they need to add their 30% and return 100%.”
“How long should one wait for a refund? Will it be a 100% refund of the price?”
“30 days.”
“It will be refunded within 30 days, right?”
“They might not refund it – you`ll have to go to court. And they usually refund immediately after receiving the statement of claim.”
Aeroflot states that passengers whose travel was disrupted due to schedule adjustments can either obtain a full refund and purchase a new ticket for the same route and class at the original price, or rebook on a similar flight scheduled within the ten days following the cancelled departure date.
Rupert Blackwood 
Clement Ashworth