Turkish low-cost airline Pegasus Airlines canceled one flight to Moscow overnight on September 2 and turned back two other aircraft heading for the Russian capital.

Flight PC1456 from Bodrum to Moscow was scheduled to depart for Vnukovo Airport at 12:05 a.m. (GMT+3), but passengers said the flight was canceled while boarding was already underway. Airline staff reportedly cited the “situation with the airspace” as the reason.

Passengers were provided with hotel accommodation until noon, but they said they had not been given a new departure time and had already been waiting for more than 10 hours.

According to reports, Pegasus flight PC1576 from Antalya to Moscow turned back over Lithuania, while flight PC1521 from Izmir to Moscow also returned to Türkiye.

The developments come amid growing concerns over the safety of Russian airspace. Aviation risk assessment company Osprey Flight Solutions reportedly warned airlines that attacks deep inside Russian territory, including areas near Moscow and St. Petersburg, are likely to remain a significant risk through the end of 2026. The company also warned of possible miscalculations and mistaken target identification by air-defense systems.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also recently warned airlines that Russian airspace was becoming increasingly unsafe due to Ukrainian drone operations.

At the same time, Russian Transport Minister Andrey Nikitin said the country would not allow significant disruptions to civil aviation operations.