Airlines cancelled more than 300,000 tickets after flight operations were suspended at 32 airports in northern and western India between May 7 and May 12, according to a Business Standard report. The shutdown followed Operation Sindoor, launched in response to the killing of 26 tourists in a terror attack in Pahalgam on April 22.
Before the suspension, these airports were handling between 50,000 and 65,000 passengers daily. Major hubs like Srinagar, Jammu, Leh, Amritsar, and Chandigarh accounted for roughly 90% of the footfall, with the remaining 27 airports being relatively smaller in terms of traffic.
While the airports resumed operations on May 12 after a ceasefire was announced between the two countries, flights didn’t return to normal in one go. In fact, the skies remained far from calm.
That evening, an IndiGo flight bound for Amritsar was forced to turn around mid-air due to reported drone activity originating from Pakistan. Around midnight, IndiGo issued a fresh notice, cancelling flights to and from Jammu, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Leh, Srinagar, and Rajkot for May 13.
Air India followed suit, calling off services to Jammu, Leh, Jodhpur, Amritsar, Bhuj, Jamnagar, Chandigarh, and Rajkot, citing “latest developments” and passenger safety as key concerns.
On May 14, IndiGo announced that flights to and from the affected cities would be restored “progressively”, with each reinstated service being planned “meticulously” for safety and scheduling.
Even so, airlines are likely to face delays in fully resuming normal operations due to ongoing security coordination and logistical hurdles at many of these airports.
The flight chaos isn’t limited to the domestic circuit. Indian carriers operating international routes from northern India have been forced to reroute flights after Pakistan shut its airspace to Indian airlines from April 24.
This change has added 30 to 100 minutes of flight time on many west-bound routes, leading to increased fuel burn and operational costs. An airline executive noted that the extended flying time is significantly straining the already tight scheduling for carriers operating out of Delhi and surrounding regions.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation has not responded to questions on whether any compensation or relief will be offered to airlines grappling with mounting losses due to cancellations and rerouting.
However, Civil Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu met with airline executives on May 13 to discuss the cascading effect of airport closures. During the meeting, airlines reportedly flagged the financial strain and repeated their demand for a cut in taxes on aviation turbine fuel (ATF), which remains among the highest cost components for domestic carriers.
There was also a symbolic discussion—airlines were encouraged to explore ways of acknowledging the armed forces, including via in-flight tributes.
