Several flight operations were disrupted at Amritsar airport after escalating tensions and reports of conflict in parts of the Gulf region, officials said on Sunday.
Amritsar Airport Director Bhupinder Singh added that five flights were affected, including a SpiceJet flight to Dubai, which was called in the air after refueling, and an IndiGo flight from Amritsar, which was diverted to Surat.
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Speaking to ANI, Bhupinder Singh said, “Yesterday, five flights were cancelled. Two flights were canceled on the ground. Two more flights took off; one was SpiceJet to Dubai, which was in the air and was called back to Amritsar around 7 pm after refueling. The other flight was IndiGo 6E 147 from Amritsar, which was diverted to Surat airport. Another flight, Air Express, which was on the ground, and the passengers were transferred to… Another IndiGo flight coming from Sharjah to Amritsar has been cancelled.
The cancellations come amid heightened hostilities in the Middle East following coordinated military strikes involving Israel and the United States that targeted Iranian sites, sparking threats of retaliation and closure of airspace in Iran, Israel and Iraq.
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The conflict led to major disruptions in global aviation, with airlines suspending their services to Gulf destinations as a precautionary measure.
On Saturday, in Bengaluru, several passengers were left stranded at Kempegowda International Airport after several flights to destinations in the Middle East were canceled amid rising tensions between Iran and Israel.
The disruptions follow widespread airspace closures across parts of West Asia, affecting international travel routes.
Rashid Khan, one of the stranded passengers, told ANI that the airport authorities cited the ongoing conflict as the reason behind the cancellation. “The reason the airport authorities gave me was the war between Iran and Israel. My flight was cancelled,” he said. Khan was scheduled to travel from Delhi to Bengaluru and from there to Abu Dhabi. “They gave me the option of another city. I chose my city. My route was from Delhi to Bangalore and Bangalore to Abu Dhabi. And now it has been cancelled,” he added, expressing his frustration at the sudden change in plans.
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Another passenger at the airport said that uncertainty persists about when operations will resume. The passenger said, “The authorities say that flights will not resume until the ceasefire is implemented there. We have to go there. Our office and everything is there. We are going to Italy directly from Bahrain. Now, there is no flight to Bahrain.”
Earlier, the Ministry of Civil Aviation announced that 444 flights were expected to be cancelled.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation stated in a post on the X website that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation is in full coordination with all relevant airlines to ensure passenger safety and operational regulations.
“Due to airspace restrictions over Iran and parts of the Middle East, 410 flights of domestic airlines were canceled on February 28, and 444 flights are expected to be canceled on March 1. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation maintains close coordination with airlines to ensure full compliance with safety and operational regulations,” the post read.
This story has been published from a news agency feed without modifications to the text.
