Two passengers aircraft on the line from Serbia to Russia were forcibly diverted and landed in Finland after the airport in St. Petersburg was temporarily closed due to drone attacks, European media reports.
Flights that were directed to Pulkovo airport could not continue their journey because the Russian authorities closed the airspace for security reasons due to increased attacks by Ukrainian drones on targets in Russia, according to the British Express.
According to available information, both planes landed at Helsinki airport. After refueling, one plane continued its journey to Russia, while the other remained in Finland due to technical problems.
Several similar incidents have been recorded
The incident is part of a wider escalation of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, in which Kiev is increasingly using drones to attack Russian infrastructure, particularly oil terminals and ports on the Baltic Sea.
In recent days, several incidents have been recorded in the region, including the entry of drones into the airspace of Finland and the Baltic countries. Finnish authorities have confirmed that at least two drones have fallen on their territory, raising further concerns about the conflict spreading beyond the borders of Ukraine and Russia.
Officials say the drones most likely went off course due to Russian electronic jamming, while Ukraine apologized to Finland for the incident.
Due to the increased risk, the Finnish military has raised the level of alertness and deployed fighter jets to monitor the airspace.
The latest events point to the wider consequences of the war in Ukraine, which is increasingly affecting the territory of other European countries, including civil air traffic.
Source: Express.co.uk
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