Operation Sindoor LIVE: Followed principle of Lord Hanuman, says Rajnath

Over 300 flights cancelled

More than 300 flights have been cancelled and at least 25 airports, including Srinagar, have been temporarily shut for operations amid restrictions in the wake of the armed forces launching missile attacks on terror targets in Pakistan on Wednesday morning.

Air India, IndiGo, SpiceJet, Air India Express, Akasa Air, and a few foreign airlines have cancelled their services to and from various airports.

Sources said that at least 25 airports in the northern and western parts of the country have been temporarily shut. These airports include Srinagar, Leh, Jammu, Amritsar, Pathankot, Chandigarh, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Shimla, Dharamshala and Jamnagar, they added.

According to one of the sources, more than 300 flights to and from various airports have been cancelled by airlines.

IndiGo said it has cancelled more than 165 flights from various domestic airports, including Amritsar and Srinagar, till early morning of May 10 due to airspace restrictions.

The sources said that around 140 flights of Air India Group -- Air India and Air India Express -- have been cancelled.

"Air India flights to and from the following stations, Jammu, Srinagar, Leh, Jodhpur, Amritsar, Bhuj, Jamnagar, Chandigarh, and Rajkot, are being cancelled till 0529 hrs IST on 10 May following a notification from aviation authorities on the closure of these airports," the airline said.

In a post on X, the airline also said passengers holding valid tickets for travel during this period will be offered a one-time waiver on rescheduling charges or a full refund for cancellations.

"Due to government notification on airspace restrictions, over 165 IndiGo flights from multiple airports (Amritsar, Bikaner, Chandigarh, Dharamshala, Gwalior, Jammu, Jodhpur, Kishangarh, Leh, Rajkot, and Srinagar) are cancelled until 0529 hrs. IST of 10 May 2025," IndiGo said in a statement.

The airline also said that passengers whose flights are affected can reschedule the booking on the next available flight or opt to cancel their bookings at no additional cost, and a full refund will be processed.

IndiGo operates around 2,200 flights daily.

In an update on X, SpiceJet said that due to the ongoing situation, flights to and from Leh, Srinagar, Jammu, Dharamshala, Kandla and Amritsar are cancelled till 0529 hours of May 10.

The affected passengers can opt for a full refund or an alternate flight as per availability, it added.

Around 140 flights to and from the Delhi airport were cancelled by various airlines including foreign carriers on Wednesday.

As many as 65 arrivals and 66 departures were cancelled. Besides, 2 international departures and 2 international arrivals were cancelled during the day, one of the sources said.

"Due to changing airspace conditions some flights have been impacted. Passengers are advised to contact their respective airlines for the latest updates and alternate travel arrangements.

"We are working closely with airlines and Air Traffic Control (ATC) to minimise any disruptions to flight schedules," DIAL said in a post on X.

Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) operates the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA).

"Due to notification from the airport authorities, flights to and from Amritsar, Gwalior, Jammu, Srinagar and Hindon are cancelled till 05.30 hrs on 10th May 2025," Air India Express said in a post on X.

Akasa Air, in a post on X, said that due to the prevailing situation in the region, all its flights to and from Srinagar have been cancelled until May 9.

As per data available on flight tracking website Flightradar24.com, United Airlines cancelled its flight from Newark to Delhi while American Airlines cancelled its flight from New York to Delhi.

Regional carrier Star Air said its flights to/from Nanded, Hindon, Adampur, Kishangarh and Bhuj stand cancelled for the day.

Meanwhile, Qatar Airways, in a post on X, said it has temporarily suspended flights to Pakistan due to Pakistani airspace closure.

India on Wednesday closed about 25 flight routes that allow planes to enter Pakistan through the Indian airspace on a day when the armed forces launched missile attacks on terror targets in Pakistan, according to officials.

In retaliation against the Pahalgam terror attack, Indian armed forces, under Operation Sindoor, on early Wednesday, carried out missile strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, including the Jaish-e-Mohammad stronghold of Bahawalpur and Lashkar-e-Taiba's base in Muridke.

Mock drills conducted across India

Mock drills simulating multiple hostile scenarios like air raids, multiple fire emergencies, and search and rescue operations among others were carried out in several states and Union Territories (UTs) as part of the nationwide mega civil defence mock drill 'Operation Abhyaas'.

The mock drills took place a few hours after the Indian military launched Operation Sindoor, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in a strong response to the terror attack in Pahalgam. The April 22 attack, carried out by the terror organisation The Resistance Front, killed 26 civilians.

The drill took place in several states and UTs including Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Assam, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur.

In the national capital Delhi, PCR vans and fire engines were stationed at multiple locations while there was a heavy deployment of security personnel and civil defence volunteers.

Blaring sirens, residents rushing to safer places, injured people being carried away on stretchers -- these were some of the scenes that played out across the 55 locations where mock security drills were carried out by authorities in Delhi.

Delhi Fire Services cranes were used to reach high-rise buildings and evacuate people who were "trapped".

Sirens were sounded at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport. Fire brigade teams rushed to the spot along with a team of doctors and multiple ambulances.

Students and teachers across Delhi took part in the safety drill aimed at strengthening emergency preparedness that included practising orderly evacuations, taking shelter under desks, and switching off electrical appliances when the siren sounded.

In an unprecedented sight later in the evening, a 15-minute power blackout was observed in many areas of the national capital, including entire Lutyens' Delhi.

The exercise left the New Delhi area housing Parliament, India Gate, embassies and key administrative buildings dark as part of a nationwide civil defence mock drill.

The blackout, which took place from 8 pm to 8.15 pm, was carried out by the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) to simulate emergency wartime conditions.

The nationwide drill was conducted on the instructions of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), which had asked all states and Union Territories to organise such exercises in light of the "new and complex threats" following the April 22 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam.

Training of civilians in the event of hostile attacks, provision of crash blackout measures, early camouflaging of vital installations, verifying the response of civil defence services, evaluating the preparedness of evacuation plans and their execution were also noted to be examined during the drill.

Close to 300 'civil defence districts' across the country with sensitive installations like nuclear plants, military bases, refineries and hydroelectric dams were covered by mock drills on air-raid warning sirens, civilian training for a "hostile attack" and cleaning of bunkers and trenches.

In Punjab, mock drills simulating emergency scenarios, like fire emergencies, and rescue operations were performed in Ferozepur, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Bathinda, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Patiala, Pathankot, Barnala and Mohali.

Mumbai saw mock drills at strategic locations, including the railway stations.

A civil defence team from the Central Railway organised a mock drill at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), one of the busiest stations and the site of the 26/11 terrorist attack, to test the preparedness of security forces in case of an emergency.

CSMT is one of the country's busiest railway hubs and was the site of the deadly terrorist attacks in November 2008. Every day, lakhs of suburban commuters and outstation passengers travel through this station.

In Bengaluru, authorities carried out a large-scale civil defence mock drill at various locations in the city.

According to officials, soon after the siren blew at 3.48 pm in various locations, the civil defence personnel, police, fire and emergency services personnel swung into action. The drill went on for about half-an-hour.

Senior officials held security drills at two key installations in Tamil Nadu -- the Madras Atomic Power Station at Kalpakkam and the Chennai port.

Mock drill was staged in Andhra Pradesh's Visakhapatnam with personnel from several departments enacting rescue operations amid a simulated bomb attack scenario.

Rehearsals were conducted across Hyderabad, the Telangana capital, to test emergency preparedness.

Rescue personnel evacuated people and shifted the 'injured' in civil defence mock drills involving the police, fire services, and disaster response forces in four locations in the city.

Mock drills were held at important locations in 14 districts of Kerala. In the eastern part of the country, evacuation drills were conducted by four private schools in Kolkata. The drills were conducted at DPS-Ruby Park, La Martiniere for Boys, La Martiniere for Girls and Future Foundation School.

In Ranchi, the exercise was held in Doranda area, under drizzling weather conditions. Traffic routes were diverted to facilitate the simulation.

Civil defence mock drills were conducted in 12 districts of Odisha which included Bhubaneswar, Sambalpur and Rourkela.

The Assam Police's Home Guard and Civil Defence wing led the drill in association with various other agencies like fire services, health department, disaster management, BSNL and DIPR, among others.

Mock drills were carried out at a few designated locations in Mizoram's Aizawl -- in a two-km stretch between the All India Radio (AIR) station at Tuikhuahtlang locality and Aizawl civil hospital in Dawrpui, an official said.

As part of the exercise, there was a blackout for five minutes from 6:30 pm to 6:35 pm in Aizawl, he said.

Agencies

Alert: Passenger deboarded from Air India flight

Amid heightened security across the country, a passenger was deboarded from an Air India flight at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru on Wednesday evening. The passenger was travelling on flight AI-2820 from Bengaluru to New Delhi.

Before the flight could take off at 6.05 pm, the passenger, whose identity has been withheld, was offloaded due to security-related concerns.

Confirming the incident, an Air India official told PTI, "We are aware of the incident but will not share any details." "There must have been a reason for deboarding the passenger. It’s not something done routinely. There were specific concerns which we are not in a position to disclose," the official added.

Security has been tightened at KIA, as at airports across the country, in the wake of 'Operation Sindoor'—India's air strikes inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to "avenge" the killing of Indian tourists in Pahalgam last month. PTI

Mock drill : Black out in Surat

UP CM oversees mock drill in Lucknow

Operation Sindoor: Bangladesh concerned over Indo-Pak conflict

Bangladesh on Wednesday expressed deep concern over the intensified conflict between India and Pakistan and urged both neighbours to exercise restraint and avoid actions that could make the situation worse in the region.

A foreign ministry statement said Dhaka was closely observing developments in the two neighbouring countries and expected it to be defused for the people in the region.

“In the spirit of regional peace, prosperity and stability, Bangladesh remains hopeful that tensions will be diffused through diplomatic endeavours, and that peace will ultimately prevail for the benefit of the peoples in the region,” the foreign ministry statement said.

It urged both the countries to “remain calm, show restraint and refrain from taking any steps that could further aggravate the situation.” Dhaka's reaction came hours after Indian armed forces early Wednesday carried out missile strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Pakistan, including Bhawalpur, a stronghold of the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror outfit.

The attack was a retaliation against the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on April 22 that had killed 26 people.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s police’s inspector general Baharul Alam on Wednesday said police superintendents of border districts were ordered to ensure that no militants enter the country amid the ongoing India-Pakistan conflict.

J&K: 9 public shelter camps set up after Pak shelling

 Authorities in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district have designated nine public shelter camps with adequate amenities for the people desirous to relocate from the forward villages hit by Pakistani shelling along the Line of Control, an official said on Wednesday.

As many as 12 persons were killed and over 50 others injured in heavy shelling by Pakistan in Poonch district on Wednesday after India Indian armed forces carried out missile attacks on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to avenge the April 22 terror attack in south Kashmir’s Pahalgam that had left 26 civilians, mostly tourists, dead.

With arrangements already in place for relocating people to safer locations, the district administration of Poonch conducted a detailed review of preparedness at various designated shelter camps during the day, the official said.

He said a team of senior officers visited the proposed camp sites to assess the readiness of facilities and ensure all logistic and support systems are operational.

The locations designated as shelter camps for those willing to relocate are Caramel School, Chandak, Dingla University Campus, Ishat ul Uloom Chandak, Higher Secondary School (HSS), Chandak, HSS Lassana, Government High School (GHS) Sanai, Government Middle School (GMS) Sanai, GHSS Seri Khawaja and Polytechnic College, Sathra, the official said.

He assured the public that essential services, including accommodation, food, and medical assistance, are available at all these shelter sites. People are being encouraged to make use of these facilities if they wish to relocate, the official said

Black out in Patna as part of mock drill

Flight operations in Gwalior Airport to be suspended till May 9

All civilian and commercial flight operations from Gwalior’s Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia airport will remain suspended till May 9 in the wake of heightened tension between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack.

The airport uses the runway of the Maharajpura airbase of the Indian Air Force for flight operations. The airbase serves as a major hub for fighter aircraft.

Gwalior Airport Director Kashinath Yadav told PTI that the airport has been closed for civilian and commercial aircraft till May 9. The airport also shared the information on social media.

Earlier in the day, India’s security forces hit at the core of Pakistan’s terror infrastructure in a series of precision attacks.

Indian jets early Wednesday hit training camps, launch pads and headquarters of the Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba without breaching Pakistan's airspace, officials said.

A large number of terrorists were present at the nine high-value sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir when India attacked in the darkness of the night, they said.

Codenamed Operation Sindoor, the sites included the JeM's sprawling headquarters in Bahawalpur and the LeT's in Muridke, both in Pakistan Punjab.

The retaliatory action follows the "savage killing" of 25 male tourists, gunned down in front of their wives and families, and one local guide in the higher reaches of Kashmir's Pahalgam town on April 22.

Mock drills held in Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport