Russian airline Aeroflot cancelled more than 40 flights on Monday after a cyberattack disrupted its systems.
The attack was claimed by a group called Silent Crow, which linked it to the war in Ukraine. A second group from Belarus, Cyberpartisans BY, was also named in the statement.
Aeroflot said the hack caused failures in its information systems. Most of the cancelled flights were within Russia, but routes to Minsk and Yerevan were also affected. At least 10 other flights were delayed.
The airline did not say how long the disruption would last but said it was working to restore normal operations. Passengers at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport saw red alerts on departure boards, as delays hit at the start of summer holidays.
A message posted under the name Silent Crow said the group had carried out the attack after a year-long operation. It claimed to have destroyed 7,000 servers, taken control of staff computers, and said it would publish passenger data.
Screenshots of what appeared to be internal files were shared in the post.
The Kremlin said the information was alarming. A criminal case has been opened. Lawmaker Anton Gorelkin said Russia was under attack across multiple fronts, including digital, and suggested foreign states may be involved.
Passengers expressed frustration online, saying they could not reach Aeroflot’s website, app, or call center. Some described waiting many hours with no information.
Aeroflot said it would allow refunds or rebookings once its systems were working and was trying to shift passengers to other airlines.
The airline remains one of the world’s top 20 carriers by passenger volume, with 55.3 million travellers last year. Flight disruptions in Russia have become more common since the start of the war, mostly due to temporary airport closures during drone attacks.
