Following the Indian Armed Forces' 'Operation Sindoor', a number of key airports in the north have reached a virtual standstill. The Indian Air Force has announced the Srinagar airport airfield closed temporarily, as a consequence of which no civilian flights will take off from Srinagar today (May 7). "The airfield is closed, and no civil flights will fly today," Srinagar Airport Director Javed Anjum told a press conference.
The action has been done for security purposes. Security measures have been tightened in the northern airspace following the Indian troops' successful strike on terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on Wednesday. Consequently, some airports, such as Srinagar, Jammu, Leh, Dharamsala, Amritsar and Chandigarh, have been shut down.
Airlines IndiGo, SpiceJet, and Air India have issued a warning to their passengers in this scenario. SpiceJet has announced that flights to other northern airports such as Srinagar could be cancelled and flight timings could be altered in the next few days. IndiGo and Air India have requested their passengers to verify the status of their flights before they head to the airport.
Air India announced in a statement that all its flights originating from Srinagar, Jammu, Leh, Jodhpur, Amritsar, Bhuj, Jamnagar, Chandigarh and Rajkot have been cancelled until 12 noon on May 7. Air India also stated that two international flights for Amritsar have been redirected to Delhi. This is a sudden respite for passengers, because of which passengers can become inconvenienced.
In the meantime, the government stated that there could be issues with air traffic until the situation becomes normal. The travelers are requested to carefully plan their journey and attempt to find out the current flight status prior to reaching the airport.
Keeping in mind the situation, this lack of certainty in air transportation is causing trouble to the passengers at one level, but at another level it is considered a significant step in India's security protocol. The passengers have been requested by the administration and airlines to take immediate measures and been advised to abide by their orders.
