Morozov: KHL Preparing Clubs for Flight Disruptions

Alexei Morozov has confirmed the KHL is preparing clubs for possible flight disruptions this season, telling Rossiya 24 the league has asked teams to lean more on road transport.

"We asked clubs to pay attention to their flights and use ground transport more. There is a good example of when Ak Bars and Lokomotiv used chartered trains in the final. They got to games on time, rested, and played good hockey. We have also worked with bus companies on their presence in KHL cities in case clubs need buses quickly for travel. Over the summer we prepared thoroughly for all the nuances that could arise this season. We held a seminar with club security representatives in Yekaterinburg, where we went through in detail everything that could come up during the regular championship. We spoke with the security services about the schedule to follow in various situations. Our operations centre continues to work 24/7, and there is a league duty officer in round-the-clock contact with the clubs. We have tried to account for all the nuances," Morozov said.

Speaking separately to Kommersant, Morozov said the league had held a meeting with club heads on logistics ahead of the season and confirmed the Yekaterinburg seminar had also covered coordination with security services. "We have an operations centre in contact with clubs 24/7. If something happens at the arena or on the road, clubs can inform us immediately," he said. He added that the KHL is not immune to postponements and stoppages, but the league will "try to do everything so matches are not disrupted and the Calendar holds." On the response process, he said: "The algorithm is this: the duty officer assigns someone responsible for the problem depending on what it involves. Together with the clubs we work out measures to resolve it."

Morozov also said clubs can now contact bus companies directly if flights are cancelled or delayed because of drone attacks, arrangements the league has worked out in advance.

The issue is not theoretical. Last season a regular-season match between Sochi and CSKA was halted after the first period and later cancelled following a repeated drone-attack alert over Sirius and Sochi; the KHL later ordered the game replayed in Moscow. A game involving Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod was also suspended for the same reason before resuming a few hours later.

If the chartered-train approach used by Ak Bars and Lokomotiv in last season's final becomes more common, travel schedules for clubs facing long distances between fixtures could look markedly different this season.