Drones were sighted over Amritsar airport on Sunday night, prompting seven planes that were waiting to land to be diverted. As a result, operations at the airport were halted for more than an hour, according to officials with knowledge of the situation.
People with knowledge of the situation claim that the Indian Air Force (IAF) notified Air Traffic Control (ATC) of drone activity throughout the airfield, leading to the airport’s closure for operations at approximately 9:50 p.m.
According to an Airports Authority of India (AAI) spokesman, “about seven flights had to be diverted, to Chandigarh and Delhi, because planes scheduled to land at Amritsar were already holding near the airport area.”
“Five of the flights were diverted to Delhi, and two were diverted to Chandigarh. According to a Delhi airport official, these five included two flights each from Air India, IndiGo, and Air India Express.
A committee was established in accordance with the standard operating procedure (SOP) for drone sightings in order to determine whether the drone activity could endanger aircraft movements. The committee decided to temporarily halt airport flying operations at approximately 9:50 p.m. after evaluating the circumstances, the AAI spokesman continued.
“The committee reviewed the situation around 11 pm because no more drones were seen or reported around the airport,” stated another source who was aware of the development. As a result, the airport was authorized to start up again at 11:15 p.m. Out of the seven flights that were diverted, five eventually made their way back to Amritsar.
The airline has enough fuel to last for more than an hour, according to an airline official.
“At 10.40 p.m., flight IX 138 was supposed to arrive in Amritsar. Despite having to be rerouted to Delhi, it returned to Amritsar.”
Dubai to Amritsar is one of the airport’s busiest routes. There are frequent flights from the airport to Delhi and Mumbai, among other places.
Also Read – Delhi Building Collapse Leaves Six Dead, Raises Fresh Questions Over Student Safety
-
-
-
-
