Flight services at five airports including Srinagar, Jammu and Leh were closed for civilian air traffic on Wednesday. “The civilian air traffic has been suspended temporarily in view of the emergency,” an official from the Airport Authority of India (AAI) was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. The official, however, did not specify the nature of the emergency.
Flight services at five airports including Srinagar, Jammu and Leh were closed for civilian air traffic on Wednesday. “The civilian air traffic has been suspended temporarily in view of the emergency,” an official from the Airport Authority of India (AAI) was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. The official, however, did not specify the nature of the emergency.
The closure of airports comes amid escalation of tension between India and Pakistan after IAF carried out strikes on a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror camp in Pakistan’s Balakot on Tuesday.
Flight operations were suspended at Amritsar and Chandigarh airports as well. “Due to operational reasons, the airspace at Amritsar has been closed for now. No commercial flights are coming to Amritsar, there is no base here, so flights are not even taking off from here,” ANI quoted AP Acharya, Amritsar Airport Director as saying.
Some of the flights en route to Jammu, Leh and Srinagar airports have been diverted to their origin stations. Officials said they received instructions from air traffic controllers that the airports have been shut for civilian flights.
Meanwhile, Pakistan has also stopped its domestic and international flight operations from Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, Sialkot and Islamabad airports, according to ANI. Other International flights that transit between Indian and Pakistani airspace are also being affected. Some flights are returning to origin, while others appear to be seeking alternate routing.
On Wednesday, Pakistani fighter jets were pushed back by the Indian Air Force (IAF) after they violated Indian air space in Poonch and Nowshera sectors of Jammu and Kashmir, a senior official told news agency PTI. High-level sources in Jammu and Kashmir confirmed to The Indian Express that three Pakistan F-16s crossed the LoC briefly. This has also resulted in security forces and other establishments being put on a heightened alert across Jammu and Kashmir.
The closure of airports comes amid escalation of tension between India and Pakistan after IAF carried out strikes on a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror camp in Pakistan’s Balakot on Tuesday.
Flight operations were suspended at Amritsar and Chandigarh airports as well. “Due to operational reasons, the airspace at Amritsar has been closed for now. No commercial flights are coming to Amritsar, there is no base here, so flights are not even taking off from here,” ANI quoted AP Acharya, Amritsar Airport Director as saying.
Some of the flights en route to Jammu, Leh and Srinagar airports have been diverted to their origin stations. Officials said they received instructions from air traffic controllers that the airports have been shut for civilian flights.
Meanwhile, Pakistan has also stopped its domestic and international flight operations from Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, Sialkot and Islamabad airports, according to ANI. Other International flights that transit between Indian and Pakistani airspace are also being affected. Some flights are returning to origin, while others appear to be seeking alternate routing.
On Wednesday, Pakistani fighter jets were pushed back by the Indian Air Force (IAF) after they violated Indian air space in Poonch and Nowshera sectors of Jammu and Kashmir, a senior official told news agency PTI. High-level sources in Jammu and Kashmir confirmed to The Indian Express that three Pakistan F-16s crossed the LoC briefly. This has also resulted in security forces and other establishments being put on a heightened alert across Jammu and Kashmir.