Srinagar airport to resume operations from Tuesday; Haj flights from Wednesday
Srinagar airport director Javed Anjum said the airport was ready to operate from Monday but the airlines needed time
SRINAGAR: Flight operations will start at Srinagar International Airport from Tuesday, six days after the airport was shut down amid escalating India-Pakistan conflict involving drones, missiles and long-range weapons , people familiar with the matter said.
Haj flights from Jammu and Kashmir will resume from Wednesday.
“Flights at Srinagar airport will operate from tomorrow.We have conveyed this to the airlines already,” said Srinagar airport director Javed Anjum.
The flight operations were suspended on June 7 after India targeted terror infrastructure at nine sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The targets were hit as part of Operation Sindoor on May 7 in retaliation for the April 22 terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam.
The decision to reopen airports and routes was taken after the Indian Air Force (IAF) confirmed that there were “no activities” in the border areas in the night intervening Sunday and Monday.
The announcement came hours after the Airports Authority of India (AAI) on Monday issued Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs) for reopening 32 airports across northern and western India for civil flight operations A separate notice was issued for re-opening the international flight routes.
Anjum said the airport was ready to operate from today but the airlines needed time. “The airlines have to line up their aircraft and passengers. That is why they are starting tomorrow,” he said.
The closure of the civil aircraft operations had also disrupted the schedule of flights for Hajj pilgrims from Jammu and Kashmir.
The first batch of 178 pilgrims from Jammu and Kashmir had left for Saudi Arabia on May 04 for the annual Hajj pilgrimage of 2025. After that no flights could operate and the authorities had to cancel seven flights of the Hajj pilgrims which were supposed to leave between May 7 and 12.
Shujaat Ahmad Qureshi, executive officer of the J&K Haj Committee, said the Haj flights from Srinagar will restart on May 14 and those will be operated which are scheduled.
“There will be three flights on May 14 and 15 as per schedule while a new schedule will be announced for the seven flights which were cancelled,” he said.
This year, 3,622 pilgrims from Jammu and Kashmir, and 242 pilgrims from Ladakh are performing the Haj pilgrimage.
Srinagar International Airport was scheduled to operate 11 Hajj flights between May 4 to 15.
