Flight operations at Sri Guru Ram Das Ji International Airport in Amritsar were suspended for nearly 90 minutes on Sunday night after multiple drones were spotted in the airport’s operational area, prompting the diversion of seven flights.
The drone activity, initially treated as a potential security threat, was later traced by police to a nearby sports tournament, where the unmanned aerial vehicles were allegedly being used to record the event.
According to airport officials, the Air Traffic Control (ATC) received information from the Indian Air Force at around 9.45 pm about drone activity across the airfield. A Joint Action Committee was subsequently activated as per the airport’s standard operating procedure for drone sightings.
The committee determined that the drone activity could pose a risk to scheduled landings, following which operations were suspended at around 9.50 pm.
Seven flights that were already holding near the airport were diverted, with two sent to Chandigarh and five to Delhi. The affected flights included services operated by Malaysia Airlines, IndiGo, Air India and Air India Express.
The committee reviewed the situation around 11 pm and, after no further drone activity was detected, cleared the resumption of flight operations. The airport reopened at around 11.15 pm.
Five of the diverted flights subsequently returned to Amritsar, while one Air India flight was cancelled. The Malaysia Airlines flight was expected to arrive on Monday.
Police have since determined that the drones were being used to film a sports tournament in a nearby village. However, the use of drones in the area allegedly violated restrictions on flying unmanned aerial vehicles within the airport’s designated no-fly zone.
The incident has raised questions over how drones were allowed to operate near a sensitive airport despite the restrictions. Police are investigating the violation and the circumstances in which the drones entered the restricted airspace. (The Indian Express)
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