Flight Operations Hit as 27 Airports Shut; 430 Flights Cancelled Across India

In an unprecedented move, 27 airports across northern, western, and central India have been closed for commercial operations until 5:29 a.m. on Saturday, May 10. The decision has led to widespread disruption in air travel, with Indian carriers cancelling a total of 430 flights on Thursday—amounting to 3% of the country’s total scheduled flights.

Meanwhile, Pakistan has also seen significant air travel disruption, with 147 flight cancellations—about 17% of its scheduled services.

According to flight tracking platform Flightradar24, civilian air traffic was conspicuously absent over the airspace spanning Pakistan and the western flank of India, from Kashmir to Gujarat. Most foreign carriers have stopped using Pakistani airspace, opting instead to reroute their flights over Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

The affected Indian airports include key ones such as Srinagar, Jammu, Leh, Chandigarh, Amritsar, and Jodhpur, as well as several others: Ludhiana, Patiala, Bathinda, Halwara, Pathankot, Bhuntar, Shimla, Gaggal, Dharamsala, Kishangarh, Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Mundra, Jamnagar, Rajkot, Porbandar, Kandla, Keshod, Bhuj, Gwalior, and Hindon. Airports that typically handle only military charters have also been closed, as per industry sources.

Wednesday had already seen the cancellation of around 250 flights. National carrier Air India reported that two of its international flights headed to Amritsar had to be diverted to Delhi, while American Airlines cancelled its Delhi-New York service the same day.

The situation remains fluid, with authorities closely monitoring developments in the sensitive airspace region. Airlines and passengers alike are bracing for continued disruptions until normal operations resume.

Also Read: Operation Sindoor: PM Modi Chooses Name to Honor Widows’ Bloodied Sindoor, Sources Reveal