With the Indian armed forces striking nine sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, commercial flight operations at various Indian airports, particularly those close to the India-Pakistan border or housed at key Indian Air Force bases, have been suspended due to airport closures and airspace restrictions in view of the developing security situation.
Around 25 Indian airports — largely in the northern part of the country — have been closed for civil flight operations following India’s strikes against Pakistan’s terror infrastructure early on Wednesday. In most cases, the airports are expected to be closed for commercial operations till around 05:30 AM Saturday (May 10), and the Indian carriers have announced cancellation of all flights to such airports at least till then. They are, however, expected to be fully operational for defence flights.
The affected airports include Srinagar, Jammu, Leh, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Gwalior, Rajkot, Bhuj, Jamnagar, Dharamshala, Bathinda, Shimla, Hindon, Kishangarh, and Kandla. A majority of these airports are located at defence airfields, with some seeing only a handful commercial flights a day.
As per data compiled by flight tracking service Flightradar24, as of 4 PM India time on Wednesday, 430 flights in India had been cancelled, accounting for 3 per cent of the scheduled flights for the day.
The Indian carriers also cautioned flyers that these disruptions are expected to have a network-wide impact, affecting flight schedules in other parts of the country as well. Carriers are also offering free rescheduling and full refund on cancellation to flyers whose flights are impacted.
“Due to government notification on airspace restrictions, over 165 IndiGo flights from multiple airports (Amritsar, Bikaner, Chandigarh, Dharamshala, Gwalior, Jammu, Jodhpur, Kishangarh, Leh, Rajkot, and Srinagar) are cancelled until 0529 hrs. IST of 10 May, 2025. Customers are encouraged to check their flight status on our website or mobile app before heading to the airport,” India’s largest airline IndiGo said in a statement.
Story continues below this ad
In an advisory to passengers posted on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Tata group airline Air India said: “Air India flights to and from the following stations – Jammu, Srinagar, Leh, Jodhpur, Amritsar, Bhuj, Jamnagar, Chandigarh and Rajkot – are being cancelled till 0529 hrs IST on 10 May following a notification from aviation authorities on closure of these airports. Customers holding valid tickets for travel during this period will be offered a one-time waiver on rescheduling charges or a full refund for cancellations”.
Air India’s no-frills airline arm Air India Express said that all its flights to and from Amritsar, Gwalior, Jammu, Srinagar, and Hindon are cancelled till 5:30 AM on May 10. Another budget carrier SpiceJet said that all its flights to and from Leh, Srinagar, Jammu, Dharamshala, Kandla, and Amritsar stand cancelled. Government-owned regional airline Alliance Air also announced cancellation of flights to and from Amritsar, Bhuj, Bathinda, Chandigarh, Dharamshala, and Shimla.
On Wednesday, flight tracking data also showed hardly any civilian aircraft activity north of Delhi and in much of Rajasthan and Gujarat, where some of the sensitive airports close to the India-Pakistan border and key Indian Air Force stations are located.
Foreign carriers divert away from Pakistani airspace
India’s strikes also led to most international flights overflying Pakistan around that time diverting away and steering clear of the Pakistani airspace. According to a few international reports, Pakistan has imposed some restrictions on its airspace for two days, and various global airlines are working to reroute their long-haul flights to completely avoid the Pakistani airspace. In Pakistan, 147 flights, or 17 per cent of the country’s scheduled flights, stood cancelled as of 4 PM India time, per Flightradar24 data.
Story continues below this ad
With India launching the strikes, the Pakistani airspace quickly emptied out as overseas carriers diverted away from it, showed flight tracking data. With tensions rising between India and Pakistan in the wake of the recent terrorist attack in Pahalgam in which 26 people were killed by terrorists, some international airlines were already avoiding the Pakistani airspace, while a few others continued to overfly the country.
“Most flights are diverting out of Pakistani airspace…Non-Pakistani aircraft—both to Pakistan airports and overflights—appear to be diverting, while Pakistani airlines are continuing to their destinations at this time,” flight tracking service Flightradar24 posted on social media platform X shortly after India launched ‘Operation Sindoor’, hitting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and PoK.
The airlines whose flights were diverted away from Pakistani airspace in view of India’s strikes included Emirates, Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines, Finnair, Saudia, Air Arabia, and Mahan Air.