The runway at Pune International Airport has been restored and declared operational after being temporarily shut following an incident involving an Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft, the Indian Air Force said.
The IAF said all safety inspections and clearances have been completed and that operations are resuming in a phased manner. It had earlier said the aircrew were safe and there was no damage to civil property, adding that efforts were underway to restore normal operations.
Sources told The New Indian Express that the incident occurred at night and involved a Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter aircraft that reportedly suffered a tyre burst during take-off, forcing the pilots to abort. The aircraft is learnt to have caused damage to the runway
The runway was closed late Friday night at around 22:25 hours at the dual-use airport, which serves both civilian flights and Air Force operations.
Officials had said it would take around 4–5 hours to clear the runway and restore operations. Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol confirmed the suspension of operations and said airlines were informed.
As flight operations were disrupted overnight. IndiGo issued a travel advisory, saying it regretted the inconvenience and was coordinating with authorities. It advised passengers to check flight status before travel and offered rebooking options and full refunds under its Plan B policy.
The airline said its airport and customer service teams were assisting passengers during the disruption.
Departure operations resumed from around 07:30 am, with arrivals beginning at 08:00 am, and air traffic is gradually returning to normal.
The incident comes amid earlier aviation disruptions involving IAF aircraft, including a Su-30MKI crash in Assam in March that killed two pilots, and a similar tyre-burst-related disruption at Pune in 2022.