New Delhi: In light of the escalating military standoff between India and Pakistan, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has announced the temporary suspension of civilian flight operations at 32 airports across northern and western India until May 15.

According to a statement issued on Friday, the closure — effective from May 9 until 5.29 IST on May 15 — has been implemented for "operational reasons" and follows a series of Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs) issued by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and other aviation authorities.

The affected airports include key airbases such as Srinagar, Amritsar, Jammu, Leh, Chandigarh, and Hindon, as well as smaller airports like Bathinda, Adampur, Awantipur, Kullu Manali (Bhuntar), and Patiala. Others on the list are Ambala, Bhuj, Bikaner, Halwara, Jaisalmer, Jamnagar, Jodhpur, Kandla, Kangra (Gaggal), Keshod, Kishangarh, Ludhiana, Mundra, Naliya, Pathankot, Porbandar, Rajkot (Hirasar), Sarsawa, Shimla, Thoise, and Uttarlai.

Meanwhile, operations at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) remain normal, though authorities warned that some flight schedules could be affected due to changing airspace dynamics and heightened security.

Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), which operates IGIA, stated via X: “Operations continue to remain normal. However, due to evolving airspace conditions and enhanced security measures as directed by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, some flight schedules may be impacted and security processing times could be longer.” On Friday, 138 flights to and from Delhi were cancelled by various airlines, though not all were directly linked to the airspace restrictions.

In a related development, Pakistan's airspace will remain closed for all types of flights between 3.15 am and 12:00 pm local time on May 10, according to the Pakistan Airports Authority.
(With PTI inputs)

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