10 airports including Srinagar, Jammu, Leh closed for civilian air traffic

New Delhi: Several airports including Srinagar, Jammu, Leh, Amritsar, Pathankot, Gaggal, Dehradun, Shimla, Bhuntar and Chandigarh have been closed for civilian operation, as the airports` facilities are currently being used by the Indian Air Force (IAF).

Mumbai airport has cancelled flights to all 4 sectors that it operates across Jammu, Srinagar, Amritsar and Chandigarh. Consequently, no commercial operation will take place in these airports. Several flights to and from these airports have either been diverted or put on hold.

Passengers at Amritsar airport were stranded as flight operations were suspended.

"Due to airspace restrictions, flights to and from Amritsar, Srinagar, Chandigarh and Jammu are currently on hold. Customers are requested to check flight status before commencing their journey to the airport," Air Vistara tweeted.

#TravelUpdate. Due to airspace restrictions, flights to and from Amritsar, Srinagar, Chandigarh and Jammu are currently on hold. Customers are requested to check flight status before commencing their journey to the airport. (1/2) — Vistara (@airvistara) February 27, 2019

GoAir has also halted flights to and from Srinagar, Leh, Chandigarh and Jammu due to airspace restrictions. It tweeted:

#GoAlert
Please note due to airspace restrictions, flights to and from Srinagar, Leh, Chandigarh and Jammu are currently on hold.
Passengers are requested to check #GoAir flight status: https://t.co/rGDDlTgiyz or SMS G8 <space> FlightNo to 57333. — GoAir (@goairlinesindia) February 27, 2019

Indigo has also suspended operations to and from Srinagar, Jammu, Chandigarh, Amritsar and Dehradun temporarily. It tweeted:

#6ETravelAdvisory : Due to airspace closure, flights to and from Srinagar, Jammu, Chandigarh, Amritsar and Dehradun have been temporarily suspended. To opt for cancellations or alternate options click on Plan B https://t.co/ofwzjniT1l — IndiGo (@IndiGo6E) February 27, 2019

Meanwhile, reports also poured in that International flights that transit between Indian and Pakistani airspace are now being affected. Some flights are returning to origin, while others appear to be seeking alternate routing.

Pakistan has also immediately stopped its domestic and international flight operations from Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, Sialkot and Islamabad airports.

In a befitting response to Pakistan over their failure to control terrorism on home-soil, India bombed and destroyed Jaish-e-Mohammed's (JeM) biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, nearly 80-km from the Line of Control (LoC) early Tuesday. The pre-dawn operation eliminated a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders.

JeM chief Maulana Masood Azhar later confirmed that the air strikes did take place at the terror camp at Balakot but denied any damage to his cadre or family members.

India's strike came 11 days after a JeM suicide bomber killed at least 40 CRPF troopers in the Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir on February 14. This is the first time that the IAF crossed into Pakistan after the 1971 war.

With Agency Inputs