India Flight Cancellations: If you’re planning to travel to or from northern, western, or central India, be aware that 27 airports are currently closed. The Times of India reported that this shutdown of commercial flights will last until Saturday morning.
Because many airports are closed, flying in India is a big mess right now. Indian airlines had to cancel a lot of flights today – 430 of them, which is about 3 out of every 100 flights they usually have. Things are even worse in Pakistan, where airlines had to cancel over 147 flights, meaning almost 1 in 5 of their usual flights didn’t happen.
A website that keeps track of flights showed that today, the airspace above Pakistan and the western region of India (stretching from Kashmir to Gujarat) didn’t have many civilian airplanes. The website explained that airlines are choosing not to fly through this “sensitive zone.” They even provided real-time information on where planes were flying and how many flights had been cancelled.
The airports in India that are closed right now include places like Srinagar, Jammu, and Leh up north, Chandigarh and Amritsar, and other cities in that area like Ludhiana and Patiala. Some smaller airports like Bathinda and Pathankot are also shut down. Further south in the western part of India, airports in places like Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Bikaner, and cities in Gujarat like Jamnagar, Rajkot, and Bhuj are also affected. Even some smaller airports like Bhuntar and Shimla in the mountains, and Gwalior, are on the list. Plus, it’s not just regular passenger airports – even airports that are mostly used for military flights are included in this shutdown.
Because of the sensitive airspace, all airlines are changing their flight paths or just cancelling flights altogether. Even yesterday, about 250 flights were called off. Air India said that two of their planes that were supposed to fly to Amritsar had to land in Delhi instead. Also, an American Airlines flight that usually goes between Delhi and New York was cancelled.
Most airlines from other countries have decided to stop flying over Pakistan. Instead, they are choosing to take safer routes that go over Mumbai and Ahmedabad in India.
Flight Delays and India Flight Cancellations Everywhere: What Airlines Are Saying
Yesterday, Wednesday, things got really disrupted with flights. Over 300 flights were cancelled, and 21 airports in the northern and western parts of India had to stop all operations. This happened because the Indian military launched missile strikes on terrorist targets in Pakistan – they called this “Operation Sindoor.” Important airports in cities like Srinagar, Leh, Jammu, Amritsar, Chandigarh, and Jodhpur had to close down completely. Even a big airport like the one in Delhi had some problems, with over 140 flights being cancelled there.
The airports that are closed are spread out across a lot of northern and western states, like Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and even parts of Uttar Pradesh and the Delhi area. Because of this, it’s causing problems for flights all over India. Many airlines have had to cancel a lot of flights and are telling people to check if their flight is still happening before they head to the airport. Big airlines like IndiGo, Air India, SpiceJet, and Akasa Air have all put out warnings.
Even international airlines that fly to places like Amritsar and Delhi are affected – some of their flights are being sent to different airports or just cancelled. These airlines have been posting on social media, like X, to let travelers know about all the changes and delays.