Thirty-two airports in northern and western India, such as Srinagar and Amritsar, have been shut down for civilian flight operations until May 15, the civil aviation regulator announced.
The move, made public early today, comes against the backdrop of the ongoing military standoff between India and Pakistan, which escalated after India launched its May 7 raids on terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan retaliated with shelling of border posts.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI), in association with concerned aviation authorities, has published Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs) declaring the temporary closure of these airports for all civilian air traffic. The closure will be operative from May 9 to May 14, 2025 (until 0529 IST on May 15, 2025) due to operational considerations, as per a statement by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
The airports impacted by the shutdown are Adhampur, Ambala, Amritsar, Awantipur, Bathinda, Bhuj, Bikaner, Chandigarh, Halwara, Hindon, and Jammu, among others. Ludhiana, Mundra, Naliya, Pathankot, Patiala, Porbandar, Rajkot (Hirasar), Sarsawa, Shimla, Srinagar, Thoise, and Uttarlai will also be closed, the release confirmed.
Earlier, 24 airports were closed for civilian traffic till May 10. Besides this, the AAI has temporarily closed 25 sections of Air Traffic Service (ATS) routes in Delhi and Mumbai Flight Information Regions (FIRs) for operational purposes. These 25 route sections will stay closed from the surface to unlimited altitude up to 2359 UTC on May 14, 2025 (0529 IST on May 15, 2025), according to the DGCA.
Due to these road closures, airlines and flight operators are urged to prepare alternative routes to avoid being affected by the disruptions in operations. Temporary measures are being managed and coordinated by the air traffic control units pertinent to this situation to facilitate safety.
This closure comes after India had previously on April 30 closed its airspace to Pakistani airlines as a retaliatory action following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 people dead. Pakistan subsequently closed its airspace to Indian carriers on April 24.
Due to the repeated closures, Air India stated on Friday that flights from and to Jammu, Srinagar, Leh, Jodhpur, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Bhuj, Jamnagar, and Rajkot would be canceled up to 5:29 AM on May 15. IndiGo also stated that all flights from and to 10 affected cities would continue to be canceled up to the same time on May 15.
The military conflict between India and Pakistan has worsened, especially after the Indian attack on nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) under Operation Sindoor in response to the Pahalgam massacre.
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