Operation Sindoor: 20 Indian airports closed till Saturday morning; international airlines also not overflying Pakistan now

NEW DELHI: Civilian flights have been suspended at 20 airports in north and western till 5.29 am Saturday (May 10) for now after India hit terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and PoK early on Wednesday morning.Airports which were closed are: Leh, Srinagar, Jammu, Amritsar, Pathankot, Chandigarh, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Jamnagar, Bhatinda, Bhuj, Dharamshala, Shimla, Rajkot, Porbandar, Bikaner, Hindon, Kishangarh, Kandla and Gwalior. Airlines have suspended flights to and from the locations till Saturday morning for now.Also after the Indian strike on Pakistan terror infra, nearly all international airlines stopped overflying the Pakistan airspace from Wednesday morning. Some flights have been enroute when the strikes have been happening and needed to change course. Air India mentioned two of its international flights en path to Amritsar have been diverted to Delhi. Now all flights, and simply these operated by Indian carriers, could have an extended flying time between the west and north India & Mumbai.KLM mentioned its Amsterdam-Delhi will take an hour longer and that to Mumbai one hour and quarter-hour longer. Both these flights will stay nonstop, the Dutch provider mentioned. United cancelled its New York (EWR)-Delhi flight on Tuesday evening, which implies the Wednesday evening Delhi-New York is also cancelled.

Airports closed

In an announcement, IndiGo mentioned: “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 5.29 am IST of May 10, 2025. Customers are encouraged to check their flight status on our website or mobile app before heading to the airport. Customers whose flights are affected can reschedule the booking on the next available flight or opt to cancel their bookings at no additional cost, and a full refund will be processed.”(*20*)Air India mentioned on X: “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.For more information, please call our Contact Centre on 011-69329333 / 011-69329999 or visit our websitehttp://airindia.com.”AI Express mentioned: “We are offering a full refund or free rescheduling for our flights to and from Amritsar, Gwalior, Jammu, Srinagar and Hindon until 5.30 am on May 10, 2025.” SpiceJet mentioned, “Due to the ongoing situation, airports in parts of northern India, including Dharamshala, Leh, Jammu, Srinagar and Amritsar are closed until further notice. Departures, arrivals, and consequential flights may be impacted.”

No Pakistan overflying by international carriers also now

Pakistan had closed its airspace for Indian carriers on April 24. But from Wednesday morning, nearly all international airlines stopped overflying Pakistan on their flights between the west and the east. “All Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Scoot flights have stopped overflying Pakistani air space and have been using alternative flight paths since May 6, 2025. This may result in slightly longer flight times for some flights,” SIA mentioned.United cancelled its New York-Delhi flight on Tuesday evening. “Due to the evolving situation in South Asia and resulting airspace limitations, United has cancelled its flight to New Delhi. We will continue to closely monitor the situation and make decisions on upcoming flights as more information becomes available,” the US provider mentioned in an announcement.