27 airports shut, air routes over LoC closed for traffic

Twenty-seven airports across northern India were closed for commercial flights until Saturday morning, following India's targeted strikes in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir in the early hours of Wednesday.

- Neha LM Tripathi

The airports were shut shortly after the attack at 1:30 a.m., officials said, adding that the first NOTAM (Notice to Airmen)—an official written notice to aviation stakeholders announcing the closure of 18 airports—was issued only early in the morning. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) issued a second NOTAM at 3:20 p.m., adding nine more airports to the list.

The affected airports include Dharamshala, Hindon, Gwalior, Kishangarh, Srinagar, Amritsar, Patiala, Shimla, Gaggal, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Halwara, Pathankot, Jammu, Leh, Ludhiana, Bhuntar, Bhatinda, Mundra, Jamnagar, Rajkot, Porbandar, Kandla, Keshod, Bhuj, and Chandigarh. Those which currently have no civil flight operations were also closed.

Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) remained the northernmost operational civilian facility apart from Dehradun.

"The IAF (Indian Air Force) contacted air traffic control and verbally instructed the shutdown of airports in northern and western India. Airlines were informed accordingly," an official familiar with the matter said, adding that the latest update indicates the airports will remain closed until 5:29 a.m. on May 10.