After India launched “precision strikes” at nine sites in Pakistan under the ‘Operation Sindoor’ early on May 7, disrupting the services of several domestic and international flights. The services in many airports particularly in north India have either been cancelled or delayed.
Airlines including SpiceJet, IndiGo, and AirIndia Express issued travel advisories, alerting passengers to disruptions and urging them to check flight statuses before leaving for the airport.
SpiceJet confirmed that services at Dharamshala, Leh, Jammu, Srinagar, Kandla, and Amritsar airports were suspended until further notice, with operations also affected in Chandigarh, Bikaner, Jodhpur, Hindon, and Gwalior. The airline posted on social media: “Due to the ongoing situation, airports in parts of northern India, including Dharamshala (DHM), Leh (IXL), Jammu (IXJ), Srinagar (SXR), and Amritsar (ATQ), are closed until further notice. Departures, arrivals, and consequential flights may be impacted. Passengers are advised to plan their journey accordingly and check flight status..”, SpiceJet said in a statement.
Similarly, IndiGo issued a travel advisory saying that the flights to/from Srinagar, Jammu, Amritsar, Leh, Chandigarh, Dharamshala, Bikaner, and Jodhpur are cancelled on May 7. “We are anticipating changes in flight schedules across our network and sincerely advise all customers to stay updated on their flight status before heading to the airport.”
The attacks under ‘Operation Sindoor’ were carried out in a joint operation by the Indian Army, Indian Air Force and the Navy. According to initial reports, the nine locations that are attacked are Bahawalpur, Muridke, Muzaffarabad, Kotli, Gulpur, Bhimber, Chak Amru and Sialkot.
While several reports claim that the headquarters of terror groups Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) are hit in the attack, the governments are yet to confirm this.
The escalation was in response to the Pahalgam terror attack in which 25 tourists and a local resident were killed.