Following India’s Operation Sindoor targeting terror camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir after the Pahalgam attack, the Indian Air Force (IAF) took control of Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport in Chandigarh and Sri Guru Ram Das Jee International Airport in Amritsar, leading to the cancellation of all civilian flights since early on Wednesday until further notice.
Ajay Kumar, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Chandigarh International Airport Ltd (CHIAL), confirmed that the air force has taken full control of the airport. He said all 52 domestic and international flights remain suspended until further orders.
The airport caters to several major routes, including Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad, Indore, Leh, Jaipur, Lucknow, Chennai, Patna, Pune, and Srinagar. It offers only two international flights to Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Thirty-three flights, including 12 to international destinations, were cancelled on Wednesday, an Amritsar airport official said.
Passengers, who arrived at the airports on Wednesday morning, were turned back as barricades were put up. The Chandigarh airport sees a daily footfall of around 10,000 passengers.
Personnel of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and Punjab Police asked the passengers to return as the operation of the airport had been shut for civilian flights since the early hours of Wednesday. Amritsar member of Parliament Gurjeet Singh Aujla, who was bound for Vishakhapatnam, was among the passengers who had to return from the airport.
{{/usCountry}}Personnel of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and Punjab Police asked the passengers to return as the operation of the airport had been shut for civilian flights since the early hours of Wednesday. Amritsar member of Parliament Gurjeet Singh Aujla, who was bound for Vishakhapatnam, was among the passengers who had to return from the airport.
{{/usCountry}}“I came to board the flight to Delhi along with my family. But we have just been informed that all flights have been cancelled. Though we won’t be able to reach our destination in time, we stand with our country and its security forces. We will manage our journey using another mode,” said Rekha, one of the passengers, outside the airport.
Civilian flights were cancelled at Kangra airport in Himachal Pradesh for 72 hours from Wednesday morning. Airport director Dhirendra Singh said: “Civilian flights are not allowed till May 9. We have issued a notice about the closure for 72 hours. We are on alert and security has been beefed up.”