The Indian government has shut down operations at Kishangarh airport in Rajasthan, Kullu–Manali Airport, also called Bhuntar Airport in Himachal Pradesh and Ludhiana Airport in Punjab on May 8, according to a Notice to Airmen’ (NOTAM) issued late night on Thursday (May 8).
The three new airport were added to the list of closed airports in the India including airports in 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. Airports primarily used for military charters have also been included in the shutdown.
According to estimates by airlines, around 450 domestic flights were cancelled as a precautionary measure on May 8, with the government shutting down more than 20 airports across north-west India, including Jammu, Srinagar, Leh, Amritsar, and Shimla.
Air travel in the country has been disrupted after airports across northern, western, and central India have shut down commercial flights until 0529 IST on Saturday, May 10. The operations are expected to remain constrained as a ‘Notice to Airmen’ (NOTAM) is applicable until May 10.
In Gujarat, four airports close to the Indo-Pakistan border – Bhuj, Kandla, Jamnagar, and Rajkot — have been temporarily shut down for civilian aircraft operations.
Air India cancelled all flights to and from Jammu, Srinagar, Leh, Jamnagar, Jodhpur, Amritsar, Bhuj, Chandigarh, and Rajkot until May 10, while IndiGo cancelled over 165 flights from multiple airports.
Amid escalating tensions with Pakistan, the central government including the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) also increased flight monitoring operations in different parts of the country after security forces detected Pakistani drones near the heavily-guarded Jammu airport on May 8.
The central government has ordered that security across all Indian airports and flights be raised to the highest level with immediate effect. As part of the heightened safety measures the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) has ordered that all passengers at all airports across the country will need to undergo secondary ladder point security check (LPSC) or pre-boarding check, senior government officials in the MoCA said.
Government officials also added that air marshal will be deployed across airports in India based on the passenger traffic inflow. Government official also said that visitor entry to terminal buildings has been banned.
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