Srinagar, Jammu and Leh were among five airports closed on Wednesday morning for civilian air traffic shortly after an Indian Air Force Jet crashed in Jammu and Kashmir‘s Budgam’s District. Apart from these three Airports, operations have been suspended at Amritsar Airport.
Flight operations have been suspended at #Amritsar airport. pic.twitter.com/JZbA3gsoGU
— ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019
AP Acharya, Amritsar Airport Director said, ‘Due to operational reasons the airspace at Amritsar has been closed for now. No commercial flights are coming to Amritsar, there is no base here, so flights are not even taking off from here.’
Sources claimed that the International flights that transit between Indian and Pakistani airspace now being affected. Some flights returning to origin, while others appear to be seeking alternate routing.
Operations at Amristar Airports also been suspended, according to Airlines Officials adding that Flight operations at Dehradun airport also have been temporarily suspended. Flight operations temporarily suspended at Shimla, Bhuntar and Gagal airports.
Uttarakhand: Flight operations at Dehradun airport also have been temporarily suspended. https://t.co/sVi8Y1krbI
— ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019
In Srinagar, an official of the Airports Authority of India told PTI, “The civilian air traffic has been suspended temporarily in view of the emergency”. While the official did not specify the nature of the emergency, it is believed the step was taken in view of an IAF jet crashing in Budgam district this morning.
Officials said they received instructions from air traffic controllers that the airports have been shut for civilian flights. Some of the flights en route to Jammu, Leh and Srinagar airports have been diverted to their origin stations, they added.
The flare-up in the cross-LoC shelling, which was initiated by Pakistani troops in early hours of Wednesday, has also resulted in security forces and other establishments being put on a heightened alert.
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