Turkish airline Pegasus cancels flights between Moscow and Turkey after Zelensky’s warning about unsafe Russian airspace

Turkish budget airline Pegasus has canceled at least one flight from Bodrum to Moscow that was set to depart at 12:05 a.m. on September 2, according to the Russian Telegram news channel Ostorozhno Novosti. Passengers on flight PC1456 were informed that all Turkish airlines had canceled flights due to the "airspace situation." The airline confirmed that several Pegasus flights out of Moscow were canceled, including two to Istanbul, one to Bodrum, and one to Dalaman.

Additionally, at Vnukovo Airport, departure boards listed several other Pegasus flights out of Moscow, including two to Istanbul, one to Bodrum, and one to Dalaman, as canceled. The restrictions were initially introduced overnight on September 2 for security reasons and were later lifted by Rosaviatsia around 6 a.m. Moscow time.

On the day prior, Volodymyr Zelensky had warned airlines that Russian airspace "is becoming unsafe" due to the increasing number of drones in the skies. Zelensky's statement was met with skepticism by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who called it a "bid for state terrorism."