The Indian government has temporarily shut down more than 25 airports in the west of the country as tensions with Pakistan escalate, with the two countries exchanging missile and air strikes.
Bloomberg reported this, citing sources.
According to the agency’s sources, as of Thursday, May 8, the number of airports that have stopped accepting flights has exceeded 25. The latest to be closed is a private airport in the Indian city of Mundra.
The government had previously ordered the closure of 16 airports for civilian use, but expanded the list due to the growing threat.
The affected facilities include airports in the cities of Chandigarh, Shimla, Sinagar, Leh, Amritsar, Jamnagar, Jaisalmer and Porbandar in the north and west of the country.
Bloomberg notes that the actions of the Indian authorities indicate a much more cautious strategy by New Delhi than that used in the past.
The closure of airports means that there will be no civilian aircraft over the northern and western parts of India. This will make it easier for the Indian military to monitor the airspace.
It is also reported that, amid the risk of an escalation of the conflict, the largest European airlines have changed the routes of their flights, and the American United Airlines has completely canceled flights to India.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, on the night of May 7, the largest air battle took place between the air forces of India and Pakistan, in which about 125 combat aircraft took part.
As we will recall, the Pakistani authorities stated that the Pakistani military allegedly managed to shoot down five Indian fighter jets.
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