In a significant disruption to air travel across northern India, major airlines have canceled flights to several cities due to an ongoing military operation. The cancellations, announced early Wednesday morning, affect major tourist and business destinations across the northern region.
Air India announced via its official social media channels that it has “cancelled all its flights to and from the following stations – Jammu, Srinagar, Leh, Jodhpur, Amritsar, Bhuj, Jamnagar, Chandigarh and Rajkot – till 12 noon on 7 May, pending further updates from authorities.”
The national carrier also noted that two international flights en route to Amritsar are being diverted to Delhi. “We regret the inconvenience caused due to this unforeseen disruption,” Air India stated in its advisory.
SpiceJet similarly issued a travel update stating that “airports in parts of northern India, including Dharamshala (DHM), Leh (IXL), Jammu (IXJ), Srinagar (SXR), and Amritsar (ATQ), are closed until further notice.” The airline warned that “departures, arrivals, and consequential flights may be impacted” and advised passengers to check their flight status before traveling.
IndiGo, India’s largest airline by market share, confirmed that “flights to/from Srinagar, Jammu, Amritsar, Leh, Chandigarh, Dharamshala, Bikaner, and Jodhpur stand cancelled for the day.” The carrier added that it’s “anticipating changes in flight schedules across our network” and urged customers to verify their flight status before heading to airports.
Commercial flights are now taking different routes, specifically avoiding Pakistani airspace. Flights from Dubai are being rerouted to Mumbai and Ahmedabad before proceeding to Delhi and other destinations. Reports indicate that the airspace over Northeastern states appears largely empty following what sources are calling “Operation Sindoor.“
