Latest news with #SrinagarInternationalAirport
New Indian Express
06-07-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
Air passenger traffic across India soars by 6.6% in opening months of fiscal 2025-26
NEW DELHI: The total passenger traffic across airports in India has grown by 6.6% in the first two months of this financial year, compared to the corresponding period last year, reveals the Airports Authority of India (AAI). Srinagar and Amritsar airports, which were closed for some weeks due to the India-Pakistan conflict following the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22 this year, have reported a steep decline on the patronage front. AAI data reveals that 71.14 million passengers travelled during April-May of 2025 as compared to 66.73 million in the period in 2024. International traffic soared by 8.8% in the period compared with 13.4 million travellers compared to 12.31 million earlier. Domestic traffic has recorded a 6.1% growth with 57.74 million against the previous 66.73 million. A total of 5.54 crore Air Traffic Movement Movements (Arrivals and Departures) have been recorded in April-May 2025, up by 6.5% over the same period last year, the data shows. The freight traffic too has boomed with an 8.1% increase in April and May of 2025 over the previous year by transporting 643.47 metric tonnes. Airports which have been severely impacted due to Indo-Pak tensions were on expected lines - Srinagar and Amritsar. Passenger traffic in Srinagar dipped by a whopping 67.1% in the two months. Srinagar International Airport had a patronage of just 1,61,214 flyers as compared to 4,89,561 earlier. The Sri Guru Ramdas Ji airport in Amritsar too followed suit with 1,56,288 passengers in the first two months of this fiscal as compared to 2,75,837 last year. The top three airports in passenger traffic in the country continue to be Delhi (93,89,191 flyers), Mumbai (65,68,271) and Bengaluru (64,43,050). The KIA airport in Bengaluru continues its non-stop growth trajectory by recording a 6.7% growth over its performance in April-May 2024. However, Delhi has dipped by 1.2% and Mumbai by 0.5% during the compared period. Airports which have done significantly well over their past performance in the two-month period compared in succeeding years are Bhubaneshwar (25.5% over previous period), Tirupati (49.2%), Varanasi (25.8%) Kannur (33.2%), Patna (32.1%), Agra (77.8) and Agati (42.5%), Durgapur (37%), Bhuj (48.6), Cudappah (58.8%), Dharbanga (52.2%), Dehradun (29.1%), Cooch Behar (38.4%), Dimapur (27.4%), Gorakhpur (995) and Hubballi (37.1%), Jabalpur (92.2%), Jaisalmer (86.4%), Kanpur (57%) and Kishangarh (38.9%), Rajahmundry (46.3%) Nanded (28.3%) Kurnool (34.3%) and Shivamogga (85.5%)
Hindustan Times
19-06-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
First batch of Hajj pilgrims return to Srinagar, rest to come back on June 26
While the first batch of Hajj pilgrims returned to Srinagar on Tuesday after performing the Hajj in Saudi Arabia, the rest of the 13 flights will start returning from June 26, officials said. Chief minister (CM) Omar Abdullah received the first batch of Hajj pilgrims at the Srinagar International Airport. The CM personally welcomed and congratulated the pilgrims on their safe return. He interacted with the pilgrims and inquired about their experiences and the facilities provided during the pilgrimage. The pause in the return of the flights is to compensate for the time some pilgrims missed in the holy land as they couldn't start the journey on time in May owing to the suspension of Hajj flights after the military standoff between India and Pakistan. 'The first batch of pilgrims who had left for the journey on time on May 4 have now returned but the rest of the flights will start returning from June 26,' said Shujaat Qureshi, executive officer of the J&K Hajj Committee. The first returning batch comprised 178 pilgrims, out of the total 3,606 pilgrims from Jammu and Kashmir who undertook the pilgrimage this year. The flight operations at the airport were suspended on May 7 when India targeted terror infrastructure at nine sites in Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Kashmir in response to the April 22 Pahalgam attack. Hajj flights from Srinagar were also affected due to the closure of the Srinagar airport. The first batch of 178 pilgrims from Jammu and Kashmir had left for Saudi Arabia on May 4 for the annual pilgrimage, but the authorities had to cancel seven flights of pilgrims that were to leave between May 7 and 12. The flights had then resumed from May 14. 'Those pilgrims, who had commenced their journeys late owing to the situation in May, will spend these days there before returning from June 26 onwards,' he said. Usually, the Hajj pilgrims from J&K spend a minimum of 40 days in Saudi Arabia as part of the package. A government spokesperson said that the government has made elaborate arrangements to ensure a hassle-free arrival experience for the pilgrims. 'Necessary logistical and transport facilities have been put in place to facilitate their smooth journey from the airport to their respective destinations across Jammu and Kashmir,' the spokesperson said. There has been around 50% decline in the number of pilgrims who performed Hajj from Jammu and Kashmir this year as compared to 2024, officials said, citing costlier Hajj rates owing to discontinuation of subsidy, disinterest of foreign airlines and high temperatures as the reason. Last year 7,008 pilgrims from J&K performed the Hajj as against 12,079 pilgrims in 2023. In 2022, around 6,000 pilgrims from Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh performed the pilgrimage, while the Hajj could not be held in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid restrictions.
Time of India
01-06-2025
- Climate
- Time of India
Why Delhi-Srinagar IndiGo flight couldn't turn back from the storm: Flying Beast Gaurav Taneja explains the tricky call
A recent IndiGo flight from Delhi to Srinagar flew through a severe hailstorm after being denied entry into Pakistani airspace. Aviation YouTuber and former pilot Gaurav Taneja, known as Flying Beast, analysed the incident and pointed out a key error that may have prevented an emergency clearance. He explained how flight protocols, airspace control, and radar limitations compounded the issue, leaving pilots with limited options. His analysis raises serious questions about weather forecasting, pilot training, and regional airspace coordination. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads What went wrong in the air? Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads 'Laal rang radar pe dikhe, usme kabhi mat jaana' Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads No room to turn back Historic Parallel: The case of IC 814 in 1999 Calls for rethinking airline policies An IndiGo flight travelling from Delhi to Srinagar on 27 May was forced to fly through a dangerous hailstorm after Pakistan refused its request to enter its airspace. The flight, numbered 6E2142, eventually made an emergency landing at Srinagar International Airport at 6:30 pm. All 227 passengers and crew onboard were reported aircraft has since been marked as 'Aircraft on Ground' due to the damage caused by the storm and is undergoing inspection and repair in to the airline, 'All customers were attended to upon landing and no injuries were reported. The aircraft is currently undergoing necessary inspection and maintenance in Srinagar and will resume operations once all clearances have been secured.'The incident has sparked renewed debate about flight safety procedures during extreme weather, especially in areas close to sensitive commercial pilot and aviation YouTuber Gaurav Taneja, known online as Flying Beast, offered a detailed analysis of the incident in a recent video. He said the pilots attempted to reroute due to worsening weather but were denied access to Pakistani airspace. According to him, a key mistake may have influenced that decision.'From the information we have till now, the pilots didn't declare an emergency; had they done so, Pakistan would've had to allow them into their airspace. Nobody has declared an emergency due to weather,' Taneja of issuing a full MAYDAY alert, which signals a life-threatening emergency, the crew declared a lower-grade distress signal—PAN PAN. This call indicates urgency, but not an immediate danger to pointed out that the airspace near Pathankot is controlled by the Indian Air Force's Northern Control. The pilots communicated their weather concerns, but were advised to reach out to Delhi Air Traffic Control, which in turn would contact Lahore.'Because Lahore is a civil airport, Northern Command couldn't contact them. The aircraft must've gotten in touch with Lahore in a couple of minutes, Lahore must've gone up the chain to ask for permission to allow the aircraft into Pakistani airspace. The permission was denied,' Taneja didn't hold back when questioning why the aircraft had been dispatched at all. He blamed both poor judgement and systemic issues. 'Pilots are told that if there is bad weather ahead, at no cost can they penetrate that weather,' he said.'On day one, pilots are told, 'Bhai, laal rang radar pe dikhe, usme kabhi mat jaana',' he added, referring to the radar's red zones that indicate highly dangerous amber zones, he said, should be sidestepped. Green zones are safer but not ideal. Airbus recommends staying 20 nautical miles clear of any active storm. Though flying above the storm is theoretically possible, Taneja dismissed it as impractical due to fuel constraints, time, and air traffic radar in use, he said, might have missed key weather signals. 'Older radar systems don't have the capability of registering ice particles, snow, sandstorms, and dry hail. And this is likely what happened with the Delhi-Srinagar flight.'The pilots had few good options. 'It doesn't make sense to take a right turn, because you'd hit the Himalayas. It would be like out of the frying pan and into the fire,' said Taneja. Turning back was technically possible, but practically difficult.'In my experience, an aircraft returns to base only in the event of a technical fault, either in the landing gear, or the hydraulics, or the electricals,' he said. 'You might think that this would've been the easiest thing to do, but let me tell you what goes on.'Climbing above the weather wasn't viable either. 'It isn't recommended to climb 6000 ft, because this consumes a lot of fuel and takes a lot of time. It can also disrupt traffic and make things difficult for the ATC,' he also stressed that pre-monsoon weather is more dangerous than monsoon season. 'This is when the weather is building.' In his view, the aircraft shouldn't have been dispatched in the first place. 'The meteorological department should've warned Delhi in advance.'He said that pilots often avoid turning back unless there's a major technical fault. 'In my experience, an aircraft returns to base only in the event of a technical fault, either in the landing gear, or the hydraulics, or the electricals.'The refusal by Pakistan to grant airspace access echoes past incidents. In 1999, the hijacked Indian Airlines flight IC 814 was initially denied entry into Lahore despite running low on fuel. Eventually, when Pakistani authorities realised the aircraft might crash in a populated area, they allowed it to land with just minutes of fuel Devi Sharan later recounted the episode to CNN: 'In the meantime, (Pakistani airport officials) came to know we have to crash this airplane. Then they gave me runway (clearance) … I had about one and half minutes of fuel left so luckily I landed on the runway.'Such decisions, Taneja said, can save lives—but only if procedures are followed. 'The aircraft was at the threshold of the bad weather, and there was no turning back,' he has been consistent in calling for stricter weather evaluation before dispatching flights. He questioned why India's meteorological department didn't issue a timely warning.'The aircraft shouldn't have been dispatched in the first place,' he air travel increases and weather patterns grow more unpredictable, this incident has reignited conversations about policy reform and technological upgrades—particularly around radar systems and airspace coordination across sensitive passengers, the message is clear: weather is never just weather when flight routes run close to contested skies.
United News of India
28-05-2025
- Climate
- United News of India
Two flights cancelled at Srinagar airport due to bad weather
Srinagar, May 28 (UNI) Two flights were cancelled at Srinagar International Airport on Tuesday evening due to adverse weather conditions, officials said on Wednesday. According to airport officials, Indigo flight 6E6041 bound for Chandigarh (IXC) and flight 6E215 to Mumbai (BOM) were cancelled due to inclement weather in the Kashmir Valley. "Departure of two flights is cancelled due to bad weather at Srinagar," an official statement from the airport authorities said. Last week over 200 passengers of an IndiGo flight from New Delhi to Srinagar experienced an ordeal after the aircraft was caught in severe turbulence amid a heavy hailstorm. Meanwhile, gusty winds, intense rains, and a heavy hailstorm lashed parts of the Kashmir Valley on Tuesday evening, throwing normal life out of gear. One of the worst-hit areas was the border region of Karnah in north Kashmir's Kupwara district, where a cloudburst triggered flash floods and caused extensive damage. An independent weather forecaster said that between 4:45 pm and 5:45 pm, a sudden cloudburst accompanied by a severe hailstorm wreaked havoc at the 12MW Karnah Hydroelectric Project. The downpour led to a massive surge in runoff from surrounding upper reaches, which inundated the project site. A landslide along the hill slopes blocked the only access road to the power project, cutting off connectivity. UNI MJR ARN PRS
India Today
13-05-2025
- India Today
Hajj 2025 flights to resume from Srinagar airport: Check details here
Following a six-day suspension due to escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, flight operations at Srinagar International Airport recommenced on May 13, first incoming flight is anticipated to land on Tuesday afternoon, marking a significant step towards restoring normalcy in the a related development, officials have confirmed that Hajj 2025 flights will resume from Srinagar Airport on Wednesday, May The inaugural batch of 178 pilgrims from Jammu and Kashmir departed for Saudi Arabia on May subsequent flights scheduled between May 7 and May 12 were cancelled due to the airport's closure amid heightened Indo-Pak flights from Srinagar will restart on May 14 as per schedule. There will be three flights on May 14 and 15 as planned, while a new schedule will be announced for the seven flights that were cancelled.A total of 3,622 pilgrims from Jammu and Kashmir, along with 242 from Ladakh, are set to undertake the Hajj pilgrimage this International Airport was initially slated to operate 11 Hajj flights between May 4 and CONFERENCE WELCOMES FLIGHT RESUMPTIONThe National Conference (NC) has expressed appreciation for the resumption of Hajj flights from Srinagar suspension of flight operations at Srinagar Airport on May 7 was a direct consequence of India's 'Operation Sindoor,' targeting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied military action was in retaliation for the April 22 terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam.A ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan was subsequently brokered, leading to the reopening of airspace and resumption of flight ADVISORYPassengers are advised to stay updated with their respective airlines regarding flight schedules and any potential situation remains dynamic, and travellers should remain informed about developments that may affect their resumption of flight operations, particularly for Hajj pilgrims, signifies a positive step towards normalcy and provides relief to those embarking on this significant spiritual Watch
