Airport operations suspended in Punjab after drones spotted across Amritsar airfield

Srinagar, Sep 07: Airport operations at Amritsar Airport were suspended from around 9:50 p.m. to 11:15 p.m. after drones were spotted across the airfield, officials said on Monday morning.

The officials said the suspension orders were issued after the Indian Air Force spotted drones across the airfield and conveyed the same to the concerned Air Traffic Control (ATC).

Airport Director Anirudh Kumar Sharma said, “At approximately 9:45 p.m., the Air Traffic Control (ATC) unit received a report from the Indian Air Force stating that drones had been spotted across the airfield. By that time, several aircraft scheduled to land in Amritsar were already circling overhead.”

“Following our Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for drone sightings, a Joint Action Committee was activated and assembled in the control tower. They determined that the drone activity could disrupt scheduled landings, so the decision was made to close the airfield for operations,” he added.

In the meantime, he said, seven aircraft that were holding overhead were diverted. Of the seven, two flights were diverted to Chandigarh and five to Delhi.

“Around 23:00 hours (11:00 p.m.), the Joint Action Committee assessed that the situation was under control and, since there was no further drone activity, decided to resume normal operations. We declared operations open starting at 23:15 hours. Subsequently, the flights began returning,” the Director said.

Subsequently, the flights began returning. Of the seven diverted flights, five returned; one Air India flight that had gone to Delhi was cancelled, while the Malaysia Airlines flight is expected to arrive today.

“Everything has returned to normal. As for the investigation, that matter is being handled by the police,” Sharma said.