India closes dozens of airports due to tensions with Pakistan - Reuters
Illustrative photo: India closed dozens of airports due to tensions with Pakistan (Getty Images)
India has closed airports located near Pakistan due to rising tensions in relations between the countries, according to Bloomberg.
Currently, the number of closed airports exceeds 25. The private runway in Mundra was the last to be closed for civil flights. According to Bloomberg’s interlocutors, the Indian government had ordered 16 airports to be closed for civilian use but eventually expanded the list to demonstrate a growing perception of threat.
Airports were closed in the cities of Mundra, Jamnagar, Chandigarh, Shimla, Srinagar, Leh, Amritsar, Jamnagar, Jaisalmer, and Porbandar in the northern and western parts of the country. It is also noteworthy that:
- The runway in Mundra is the "gateway" to India’s largest private commercial port, and in Jamnagar – it provides access to the oil refinery of Reliance Industries Ltd;
- In Bathinda, where the airport was also closed, there is an oil refinery owned by the state-run Hindustan Petroleum Corp. and Mittal Energy Investment Pte.
It is also noted that due to the threat of conflict, the largest European airlines have already changed their flight routes, and United Airlines Holdings Inc. canceled flights to India.
“The detours have made flying between Europe, the Middle East and Asia longer, in some cases by as much as 100 minutes, resulting in higher costs from extra fuel burn,” adds Bloomberg.
Conflict between India and Pakistan
India and Pakistan have been engaged in a territorial dispute over the Kashmir region for many decades; each country considers it part of its territory and controls separate areas of it.
In the second half of April, tensions between these states rose again after an armed group attacked tourists in the Pahalgam area. As a result, 25 Indian citizens and 1 Nepali citizen were killed.
The Indian side blamed Pakistan for the attack, which, in turn, denied any involvement. After that, the Indian authorities announced a possible withdrawal from the Indus Waters Treaty and later blocked dams near Pakistan's border.
On the night of May 6 to 7, India reported the start of a military operation and carried out strikes on targets it considers terrorists on Pakistani territory. In response, Pakistani forces also conducted attacks. More about this – in our report.
