Over 200 flights, particularly to the northern part of the country, were affected because of the temporary closure of around 18 airports owing to airspace restrictions on Wednesday.

Citing a government notification on airspace restrictions, airlines have announced the cancellation of services to many northern and western airports in the country, including Srinagar, Jammu, Leh and Amritsar.

Airlines and major airport operators have asked flyers to check flight status, pointing out that operations are impacted because of the restrictions and the closure of certain airports across the country.

According to sources, around 18 airports in the northern and western parts of the country have been temporarily closed for civilian operations due to security reasons. These airports include Srinagar, Jammu, Leh, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Dharamshala, Shimla, Kangra, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Rajkot, Bhuj, Jamnagar, Gwalior, Kishangarh and Hindon, among others.

On its X account, Srinagar airport confirmed that its services have been suspended till further notice. Chandigarh, Amritsar, Shimla, Kishangarh and Kangra airports, too, have said that services have been cancelled because of evolving airspace restrictions.

Referring to the notification by the aviation authorities over airspace closure, Air India, IndiGo and other airlines have cancelled flights to Srinagar, Jammu, Leh and Amritsar, among others, till May 10 early morning.

“Air India flights to and from the following stations — Jammu, Srinagar, Leh, Jodhpur, Amritsar, Bhuj, Jamnagar, Chandigarh and Rajkot — are being cancelled till 0529 hrs IST on 10 May following a notification from aviation authorities on closure of these airports,” Air India said.

IndiGo also said that over 165 flights from multiple airports, including Amritsar, Bikaner, Chandigarh, Dharamshala, Gwalior, Jammu, Jodhpur, Kishangarh, Leh, Rajkot and Srinagar, had been cancelled until May 10 early morning.

Air India Express has cancelled services to and from Amritsar, Gwalior, Jammu and Hindon, while SpiceJet temporarily closed its services to and from Leh, Srinagar, Jammu, Kangra, Kandla and Amritsar.

The government-owned Akasa Air and a few foreign airlines have also called off their services to and from the affected airports.

The airlines have offered waivers on rescheduling charges or a full refund for cancellation of flight tickets to address the inconvenience of the passengers.

To ease flyers’ inconvenience, Delhi and Mumbai airports have issued advisories to passengers over changing airspace conditions. Delhi airport has advised passengers to contact their respective airlines for the latest updates and alternative travel arrangements.

“In view of airspace restrictions and closure of certain airports across the country, flight operations may be impacted. We urge passengers to check with their airlines for the latest flight status before travelling to the airport,” Mumbai airport said on X.