NEW DELHI: The entire airspace north of the Indian capital has been vacated, official sources said on Wednesday.
The skies above New Delhi were vacated as nine airports in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab were closed for civilian air traffic on a day of rapidly escalating tensions between India and Pakistan.
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval was holding a high level meeting to assess the security situation in the wake of the developments of the morning, including Pakistan claiming that it had shot down two Indian military jets and arrested two pilots.
An official of the airport authority of India (AAI) said that the step was taken amidst the high security alert issued by security agencies and the Indian Air Force. The official said instructions came from air traffic controllers that the airports have been shut for civilian flights.
An official of the airport authority of India (AAI) said that the step was taken amidst the high security alert issued by security agencies and the Indian Air Force. The official said instructions came from air traffic controllers that the airports have been shut for civilian flights.
Apart from this, flights at Chandigadh, Dehradun and Dharamshala have also been suspended ‘till further notice. One official added that no Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) have been issued yet.
Some of the flights en route to Jammu, Leh and Srinagar airports have been diverted to their origin stations, officials added.
An Indian Air Force (IAF) jet crashed in Budgam district on February 27. Following this, airports in Amritsar, Srinagar, Jammu, Pathankot and Leh were closed for civilian air traffic amid escalation of cross-Line of Control shelling between armies of India and Pakistan.
Earlier, some of the flights en route to Jammu, Leh and Srinagar airports have been diverted to their origin stations, officials added.