Delhi airport cancels 60 domestic flights due to Pak escalation after Operation Sindoor: Sources

Passengers lined up at Delhi airport as several flights were delayed. (Image: X)

According to sources, as many as 60 domestic flights to and from  Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport have been cancelled today (May 10). The airport has had to adjust several flights and provision for changes in the schedule.

“…due to changing airspace conditions, some flights have been impacted at Delhi airport. For updated flight information, passengers are advised to contact their respective airlines or visit our official website,” Delhi airport said in a post on X on May 9.

Several airports are facing disruption in operations since May 7, as India’s northern and western airspace has been restricted due to threat from Pakistan’s escalation following precision strikes on terror sites across the border under Operation Sindoor.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) on May 9 extended the temporary closure of 25 segments of Air Traffic Service (ATS) routes within the Delhi and Mumbai Flight Information Regions (FIRs) due to operational reasons.

As per the Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) G0555/25 (which replaces G0525/25), these segments will remain unavailable from ground level to unlimited altitude until 2359 UTC on 14th May 2025 (which corresponds to 0529 IST on 15th May 2025).

Hundreds of flights of domestic airlines, including IndiGo, Air India, Spicejet, Akasa Air, and Air India Express have been cancelled and rescheduled so far.

Airports shut down

According to estimates by airlines, around 650 domestic flights were cancelled as a precautionary measure on May 10, with the government shutting down around 32 airports across north-west India, including Jammu, Srinagar, Leh, Amritsar, and Shimla.

The affected airports include the Awantipur Air Force Station in Jammu & Kashmir, Ambala airport in Haryana, Adampur Air Force Station in Punjab, Naliya Air Force Station in Gujarat, Sarsawa Airport in Uttar Pradesh, Thoise Air Force Station in Ladakh, and Uttarlai Air Force Station in Rajasthan, that were shut down on Friday, May 9, at night.

Airports primarily used for military charters have also been included in the shutdown.

Eight new airports were added to the list of closed airports, which includes those in Kishangarh, Bhuntar, Ludhiana, Srinagar, Jammu, Leh, Chandigarh, Amritsar, Patiala, Bathinda, Halwara, Pathankot, Shimla, Gaggal, Dharamsala, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Mundra, Jamnagar, Rajkot, Porbandar, Kandla, Keshod, Bhuj, Gwalior, and Hindon.

In Gujarat, four airports close to the Indo-Pak border — Bhuj, Kandla, Jamnagar, and Rajkot — have been temporarily shut down for civilian aircraft operations.