On the evening of March 22, 2026, a passenger aircraft of Russia Airlines, operating a flight from Mineralnye Vody to St. Petersburg, displayed a distress signal on the Flightradar24 service. The Airbus A320 aircraft transmitted the emergency transponder code 7700, which in aviation practice corresponds to the declaration of an emergency.
Experts explain that in this case, the activation of the code was procedural. The crew used this mechanism to obtain priority permission to land at Pulkovo Airport, which at that time was operating with restrictions due to the threat of unmanned aerial vehicles in the Leningrad region. The decision to use a distress signal is made when the aircraft does not have enough fuel to divert to an alternate airfield — in such a situation, priority landing becomes a matter of flight safety.
The press service of Pulkovo Airport later confirmed that the aircraft landed safely at 20:15 Moscow time. Neither passengers nor crew members were injured, and the technical condition of the aircraft does not raise any questions. After completing all the necessary procedures, the aircraft was sent to the parking lot for scheduled maintenance.
The use of code 7700 in such conditions is a standard global practice. It allows dispatchers to instantly identify the priority of the flight and coordinate the airspace for a safe completion of the flight. In conditions of temporary closure of the airspace over the region, this procedure helps to avoid delays and minimize the risks associated with a limited fuel supply.