Putin bans transport bosses from taking holidays after airport chaos hits Moscow

RUSSIAN transport bosses were carpeted by prime minister Vladimir Putin and banned from taking New Year holidays after freezing weather brought chaos to Moscow.

Icy rain covered runways and planes with a thick layer of ice over the weekend and caused a blackout at Domodedovo Airport, which halted all flights for a day. It resumed operations on Monday, but a backlog of delayed flights left thousands stuck.

Dozens of flights also have been cancelled or delayed in the second-largest airport, Sheremetyevo, where national carrier Aeroflot reported severe shortages of de-icing fluid.