New Delhi, September 7: Operations at Amritsar airport were reportedly suspended for nearly an hour and a half on Sunday night after drones were spotted across the airfield, forcing the diversion of seven flights, Airport Director Anirudh Kumar Sharma said.
Sharma told ANI that the Air Traffic Control (ATC) unit received information from the Indian Air Force at around 9:45 pm that drones had been spotted across the airfield. Following the airport’s Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for drone sightings, a Joint Action Committee was activated and assembled in the control tower.
The committee assessed that the drone activity could disrupt scheduled landings and decided to close the airfield. Operations were suspended around 9:50 pm. With several aircraft already circling overhead, seven flights were diverted: two to Chandigarh and five to Delhi, Sharma said.
The Joint Action Committee reviewed the situation around 11 pm and, after finding no further drone activity, decided to resume operations. The airport was declared open from 11:15 pm, following which flights began returning.
Of the seven diverted flights, five returned to Amritsar. One Air India flight that had been diverted to Delhi was cancelled, while a Malaysia Airlines flight was expected to arrive on Monday. “Everything has returned to normal,” Sharma said, adding that the police are investigating the incident.
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