Operation Sindoor: Govt shuts 25 flight routes to Pak from Indian airspace

India shuts 25 air corridors into Pakistan after Operation Sindoor, launched in response to the Pahalgam terror attack. International flights face reroutes as tensions escalate

The Indian government has closed around 25 flight routes that allow planes to enter Pakistan through the Indian airspace, after the successful completion of Operation Sindoor.

 

Operation Sindoor was launched by the Indian Armed Forces in the early hours of Wednesday (May 7) in response to the Pahalgam terror attack of April 22, which claimed the lives of 26 tourists in Kashmir. The mission’s codename — Operation Sindoor, the red powder traditionally applied by married Hindu women — was chosen to symbolise the widows created by the Pahalgam atrocity and to send a clear message.

 

Indian Air Force’s Wing Commander Vyomika Singh told reporters that the airstrikes were precisely planned to avoid civilian harm. “Operation Sindoor was launched by the Indian Armed Forces to deliver justice to the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack and their families. Nine terrorist camps were targeted and successfully destroyed… The locations were so selected to avoid damage to civilian infrastructure and loss of any civilian lives,” she added.

 

Earlier, India closed its airspace to Pakistani airlines on April 30 as part of its response to the Pahalgam terror attack. Two days after the Pahalgam attack, on April 24, Pakistan had barred Indian carriers from its skies. 

 

International carriers to chart alternative routes 

 

According to three officials who spoke to PTI on Wednesday, roughly 25 flight corridors into Pakistani airspace have been suspended indefinitely. This will force foreign airlines, which normally overfly Pakistan after leaving Indian airspace, to adopt lengthier detours. Officials added that international carriers have been instructed to chart alternative routes that bypass Pakistani airspace entirely once they depart India.

 

Airlines are required to pay overflight fees to the civil aviation authority of any country whose airspace they traverse. In India, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) handles Air Traffic Management Services (ATMS) across the country’s airspace and its adjoining oceanic regions.

 

In a parallel development, a number of international airlines, including United Airlines and Korean Air, have re-routed or cancelled flights around the Pakistani airspace, due to the recent attack on Pakistan.

 

Domestic air travel in both countries was affected. By 10:30 GMT, roughly 3 per cent of India’s scheduled flights and 17 per cent of Pakistan’s had been cancelled, as per data compiled by Reuters via Flightradar24. 

 

(With inputs from Agencies)