India suspends flight operations and closes 24 airports as Pakistan resumes flights nationwide

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NEW DELHI (AP) — Airlines in India have suspended flight operations from two dozen airports across northern and western regions of the country amid heightened tensions with Pakistan.

India’s Civil Aviation Ministry late Thursday confirmed in a statement the temporary closure of 24 airports.

Pakistan, meanwhile, resumed flights nationwide after a suspension at four airports, according to the Civil Aviation Authority.

In advisories to passengers, India’s key domestic airlines said their flights would remain suspended until Saturday from airports including Amritsar in northern Punjab and Srinagar in India-controlled Kashmir, bordering Pakistan.

Indigo, the country’s biggest domestic carrier, on Wednesday canceled 165 flights, while Air India and Air India Express had a similar number of cancellations. Air India diverted two of its international flights enroute from Amritsar, close to Lahore, to New Delhi, because of the sudden closure of the airport.

India and Pakistan are teetering on the edge of a fresh military crisis after New Delhi launched missile strikes inside Pakistani territory Wednesday, targeting what it called terror training camps to avenge last month’s massacre of 26 Indian tourists in India-controlled Kashmir.

India blames Pakistan for backing the gunmen, an accusation that Islamabad denies.

Soon after the killings, the two countries swiftly moved to close their respective airspace last month, and India has shut some of its airports. The cancellation of flights has resulted in woes for passengers.

Rahul, a 32-year-old Indian businessman who goes by a single name, said his flight from Dubai to Chandigarh was canceld on Wednesday after closure of the Indian airport. The airline offered him a rescheduled flight to Delhi and then a bus ride to Chandigarh. “Its a security situation. I understand,” he said.