Russia's flagship airline Aeroflot carried out more than 150 flights on Wednesday, instead of the scheduled 90 in a bid to clear the backlog of delayed passengers.
On Wednesday, Aeroflot said on its website that it had canceled 42 domestic and international flights.
Thousands of passengers were stranded in Moscow airports following an ice storm that struck across Central Russia over the weekend. Freezing rain caused massive power disruptions, and hundreds of flights have been cancelled and delayed, affecting some 20,000 passengers.
Russian Transport Minister Igor Levitin criticized Aeroflot management on Tuesday, saying he had "questions" for the company.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin handed out blistering criticism on Wednesday to airport and airline officials who have failed to adequately deal with passengers during mass flight delays.
Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport said on Wednesday it was working as normal after days of chaos caused by the ice storm.
The situation in another Moscow airport, Domodedovo, is also improving. On Wednesday, over 1,000 passengers remained stranded at the airport, a spokeswoman for Domodedovo told Rossiya 24 TV channel.
President Dmitry Medvedev has instructed prosecutors to check whether airport authorities and air carriers have taken "all necessary measures" to comply with legislation on air transportation and passenger services in emergency situations.
MOSCOW, December 30 (RIA Novosti)
