India Shuts Over 25 Airports Near Pakistan as Tensions Mount

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(Bloomberg) — India has halted civilian flights to more airports that are relatively closer to Pakistan, people familiar with the matter said, signaling escalating tensions after New Delhi carried out military strikes in its neighbor’s territory.

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The list of closures exceeded 25, with a private airstrip in Mundra owned by the Adani Group being the latest to be closed for civilian traffic, they said, asking not to be identified citing rules. The government had previously ordered closing 16 airports for civilian use, but expanded the list to reflect the increased threat perception, the people said.

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The facilities affected include airports in the cities of Chandigarh, Shimla, Srinagar, Leh, Amritsar, Jamnagar, Jaisalmer and Porbandar in the northern and western parts of the country. While the Mundra airstrip is a gateway to India’s largest private owned commercial port, the Jamnagar facility provides access to Reliance Industries Ltd.’s crude oil refinery.

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It shows a far more cautious strategy than what has been employed in the past by India, which has undertaken military strikes against Pakistan six times since 1947. The closures mean there will be no civilian flight movement over the Indian airspace in the country’s north and western regions, making the skies easier to monitor for the defense forces in the event of retaliatory strikes by Pakistan, the people said.

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Read: India, Pakistan Escalate Conflict With Use of Drones, Missiles

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India said it struck nine targets in Pakistan-administered territories in response to a recent terror attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 civilians. Islamabad has said civilians including women and children were killed in the strikes and has promised retaliation at a time and place of its choosing.

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In 2019, when India carried out retaliatory airstrikes after a suicide bomber killed 40 Indian paramilitary police officers in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, New Delhi had only briefly suspended a few passenger flights to Srinagar, the capital of Jammu and Kashmir. It had also diverted some passenger flights destined for airports near Pakistan, the people said adding that flight suspensions were temporary.

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Authorities have also now ordered shutting the airport in Bhatinda, which is home to another oil refinery jointly owned by state-owned Hindustan Petroleum Corp. and Mittal Energy Investment Pte.

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The Airports Authority of India, which runs most of the shuttered facilities, and the Adani Group didn’t immediately respond to requests for comments.

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With the two long-time adversaries looking headed to a conflict, Europe’s largest airlines have altered their flight paths, while United Airlines Holdings Inc. canceled flights to India.

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The detours have made flying between Europe, the Middle East and Asia longer, in some cases by as much as 100 minutes, resulting in higher costs from extra fuel burn. Many airlines were already avoiding the Russian airspace since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, forcing them to take long detours between Europe and Asia.

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