Operation Sindoor: Over 300,000 flight tickets cancelled in 6 days

Airline companies cancelled over 300,000 tickets due to suspension of flight operations at 32 airports in northern and western India between May 7 and May 12, aviation industry sources told Business Standard.

 

These airports were handling 50,000 to 65,000 passengers daily before operations were suspended. The shutdown followed Operation Sindoor in response to the killing of 26 tourists in a terror attack in Pahalgam on April 22.

 

The affected airports, including Srinagar, Jammu, Leh, Amritsar, Chandigarh, and Jodhpur, reopened on the morning of May 12 after a ceasefire was announced between the two countries. However, the resumption of flights has not been smooth.

 

On May 12, intense drone activity originating in Pakistan disrupted services, and an IndiGo flight bound for Amritsar was forced to return mid-air on Monday evening. Around midnight on May 12, IndiGo — India’s largest carrier —announced that its flights to and from Jammu, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Leh, Srinagar, and Rajkot would be cancelled for May 13.

 

In an update on Tuesday evening, IndiGo stated on X that flights to and from these cities would “progressively” resume from May 14. “Each flight is being reinstated with meticulous coordination —  ensuring every journey is seamless, secure, and on track,” the airline said. 

 

Also, just a few hours after announcing plans to resume services, Air India stated on X that, in view of the “latest developments” and keeping passenger safety in mind, it had cancelled flights to and from Jammu, Leh, Jodhpur, Amritsar, Bhuj, Jamnagar, Chandigarh, and Rajkot for May 13.

 

The Ministry of Civil Aviation did not respond to Business Standard’s queries on whether the government plans to offer financial relief to the airlines.

 

However, on Tuesday, Civil Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu, along with senior officials, met top representatives of airlines to discuss flight disruptions caused by airport closures. The need for reduction of taxes on aviation turbine fuel (ATF) was also raised by the companies.

 

During the meeting, the minister urged the airlines to explore ways to honour the contributions of the armed forces, including through in-flight announcements.  

 

Besides cancellation of domestic flights between May 7 and May 12, the airlines have also been financially impacted by the closure of Pakistan airspace to Indian carriers’ international flights. The rerouting of these flights due to closure of Pakistan airspace came into effect on April 24.

 

This has forced Indian airlines to take longer routes for their international flights heading west from northern India, increasing flight time by anywhere between 30 and 100 minutes, an executive said. Soon after the closure of Pak airspace, the government had met airline companies to assess the implication.

 

Among the 32 airports that were closed, the top five in terms of passenger traffic were Srinagar, Jammu, Leh, Amritsar, and Chandigarh, according to officials. “The 32 airports were handling between 50,000 and 65,000 passengers daily. However, the top five alone accounted for about 90 per cent of this traffic. The remaining 27 are relatively small in terms of passenger volume,” the executive said.