GUWAHATI: Following the targeted Indian military assault on terrorist bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), several airports in northern India have been closed to civilian flight operations until further notice.
The temporary safety measure has been enforced in the wake of increased security and airspace alerts following Wednesday's pre-dawn military operation.
Some of the airports impacted are those in Dharamshala (Himachal Pradesh), Leh, Jammu, and Srinagar (Jammu & Kashmir), Amritsar (Punjab), Bikaner (Rajasthan), and Hindon (Delhi NCR). Major domestic carriers such as IndiGo, SpiceJet, Air India, and Air India Express have announced the suspension of flights at these airports and requested passengers to check their flight status before going to the airport.
Because of the current situation, airports in areas of north India… are shut until further notice. Departures, arrivals, and consequential flights can be affected," SpiceJet tweeted on platform X. IndiGo too confirmed the disruption in services, especially at Bikaner, informing passengers to keep themselves informed about flight status.
Air India, which is run by the Tata Group, has suspended all flights to and from various cities such as Jammu, Srinagar, Leh, Amritsar, Jodhpur, Bhuj, Jamnagar, Chandigarh, and Rajkot until at least noon today, May 7. Two international flights bound for Amritsar were diverted to Delhi. Akasa Air also ensured that all its flights to and from Srinagar have been cancelled following the airport shutdown.
India's action, Operation Sindoor, was a retaliatory response to the April 22 brutal terrorist attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 people—25 Indian citizens and one Nepali national. In a statement, India asserted that its response was "focused, measured, and non-escalatory," and that no Pakistani military installations were hit during the strikes.
The steps follow the gruesome Pahalgam terror attack… We are living up to the pledge that the perpetrators of this attack will be made accountable," the Indian government said.
The closure of Indian airports has also had international consequences. Foreign carriers are starting to reroute or suspend services involving Pakistani airspace, and the first to do so was Qatar Airways, by suspended its flights to Pakistan. "The airline is keeping a close eye on the situation and will continue to keep the safety of its passengers and crew as its main priority," said the airline in a statement.
There is still tension since airspace restrictions and diplomatic repercussions continue to change. India had previously lowered diplomatic relations with Pakistan, leading Islamabad to scrap existing pacts and deny Indian carriers access to its airspace. The scenario continues to shift, and further news is awaited from both civil aviation and defense officials.
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