On the morning of April 16, 2025, the airports of Nizhny Novgorod (Strigino) and Yaroslavl (Tunoshna) introduced the "Carpet" mode, which provides for the temporary suspension of all flights. The restrictions were introduced to ensure flight safety in connection with the alleged threat of an attack by Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The airports stopped accepting and sending aircraft, and crews, air traffic controllers and airport services went into high alert mode. Passengers are advised to monitor schedule updates on airline websites and refrain from traveling to airports until the restrictions are lifted.

The precautionary measures were taken against the backdrop of the activity of Ukrainian drones, which, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, were spotted in the airspace of several regions of Russia on the night of April 16. The department reported the interception of 26 fixed-wing UAVs, of which nine were shot down over the Voronezh Region, eight over Belgorod, four over Kursk, two over Lipetsk, two over Crimea, and one in the Moscow Region. Although no direct attacks on Nizhny Novgorod and Yaroslavl were recorded, the proximity of these regions to drone activity zones forced the authorities to take preventive measures.

The introduction of the Carpet plan is part of a wider wave of restrictions that have swept across Russian airports in recent months. According to Avia.pro, similar measures have been repeatedly applied since the beginning of 2025 in regions bordering Ukraine, as well as in central Russia. For example, on February 9, restrictions were in effect at the airports of Volgograd, Nizhny Novgorod and St. Petersburg, and on March 11, operations were suspended at Moscow's Vnukovo, Domodedovo, Zhukovsky, as well as Strigino and Tunoshna.