Srinagar, May 13: After a six-day suspension due to heightened India-Pakistan tensions, flight operations resumed at Srinagar International Airport on Tuesday, with a total of eight flights—four arrivals and four departures—operating throughout the day. The flights carried a total of 935 passengers, officials said.
Director of Srinagar International Airport, Javed Anjum, told Rising Kashmir that flight operations were officially restored on Tuesday. “We had four arrivals and four departures today, with a total of 935 passengers. Four flights are scheduled for tomorrow as well,” he said.
“The first flight to resume operations was Air India’s AI-827, an Airbus A321, which took off from New Delhi and landed in Srinagar at 11 a.m., signalling the formal resumption of air traffic at the airport,” he added.
Flight operations were suspended across 32 airports, including Srinagar, after India launched Operation Sindoor, a strategic offensive targeting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan.
The operation was conducted in retaliation for the devastating April 22 Pahalgam attack, which claimed 26 civilian lives, including tourists and foreign nationals.
The temporary suspension of air travel severely impacted mobility in the Kashmir, affecting both local commuters and incoming tourists.
With flights resuming, airport authorities are hopeful that regular schedules will be gradually restored in the coming days, depending on the evolving security situation.
Tuesday’s limited flight activity took place under heightened security protocols and in coordination with civil aviation and military agencies, sources said. Officials added that ongoing surveillance and real-time threat assessments are being conducted to ensure passenger safety.
The resumption of air services has come as a relief to stranded passengers and is a positive sign for tourism stakeholders in the region, who had feared long-term disruption amid escalating tensions following Operation Sindoor.
The airport closure also disrupted the Hajj flight schedule from Jammu and Kashmir. The first batch of 178 pilgrims had departed for Saudi Arabia on May 4, but subsequent flights scheduled between May 7 and May 12 were cancelled due to airspace restrictions. In total, seven Hajj flights had to be postponed.
Shujaat Ahmad Qureshi, Executive Officer of the J&K Hajj Committee, told Rising Kashmir that Hajj flights from Srinagar will resume on May 14.
“There will be three flights on May 14 and May 15 as per the original schedule. A new schedule will be announced shortly for the seven cancelled flights,” he said.
This year, 3,622 pilgrims from Jammu and Kashmir and 242 from Ladakh are expected to perform the annual pilgrimage. Srinagar Airport was initially scheduled to operate 11 Hajj flights between May 4 and May 15.
