22 airports shut, over 500 flights cancelled after India strikes terror camps in Pakistan

As many as 22 airports in north and west India have been shut for civil aircraft after India struck terrorist camps inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir (PoJK).

The closure of airports from Leh to Rajkot has led to the cancellation of over 500 flights till May 10. IndiGo , the country’s largest airline, on Wednesday announced the cancellation of over 165 flights, 7% of its 2,200 daily flights. Air India has yet to reveal the number of daily flight cancellations due to airspace restrictions.

These restrictions have led to the closure of several international airports like Amritsar and Chandigarh, besides many other domestic airports including Leh, Srinagar, Jammu, Dharamshala, Shimla, Bhatinda, Bhuntar, Hindon, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Gwalior, Kishangarh, Bhuj, Jamnagar, Porbandar, Kandla, and Rajkot among others. These airports will remain closed till 5.29 a.m. on May 10, as per a notice to airmen (NOTAM)

Flight tracking portal FlightRadar24 showed no commercial flight operations in the North and north-west parts of the country except Dehradun.

IndiGo has suspended its flight operations to and from several cities—including Jammu, Srinagar, Amritsar, Leh, Chandigarh, Jodhpur, Dharamshala, Bikaner, Gwalior, Kishangarh, and Rajkot—until May 10. The airline stated it is actively observing the evolving situation and indicated that additional changes to flight schedules on other routes could be introduced as needed.

Similarly, Air India, which is owned by the Tata group, has also cancelled flights to and from Jammu, Srinagar, Leh, Jodhpur, Amritsar, Bhuj, Jamnagar, Chandigarh, and Rajkot through May 10, 2025. This decision comes in response to an official notice from aviation regulators concerning airport closures in these regions. In a post on X, Air India confirmed: “Due to airport closures as per directives from aviation authorities, our flights to and from Jammu, Srinagar, Leh, Jodhpur, Amritsar, Bhuj, Jamnagar, Chandigarh, and Rajkot will remain cancelled until 0529 hrs IST on May 10.”

Air India Express, the budget arm of Air India, has also halted its flight operations to and from Jammu, Amritsar, Srinagar, Hindon, and Gwalior airports until 5:30 a.m. on May 10.

SpiceJet , the low-cost airline headed by Ajay Singh, cancelled all its flights on May 7, 2025, to and from Leh, Srinagar, Jammu, Kangra, Kandla, and Amritsar.

Akasa Air, the low-cost carrier backed by the late billionaire Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, announced that it has cancelled its Srinagar flights due to the airport being closed for civil air traffic.

Flights to international destinations are now avoiding Pakistan and north Indian airspace altogether. On April 24, Pakistan closed its airspace to Indian aircraft. This was followed by India prohibiting Pakistani aircraft from entering its airspace days later. According to FlightRadar24, this has resulted in drastically altered flight paths, significant increases in flight time, and growing logistical headaches for both regional and international carriers.

“Whilst some non-Indian and Pakistani-registered carriers initially continued using the airspace, direct military action taken by India on May 7 has compelled most airlines to avoid Pakistan altogether,” said FlightRadar24.