'Drone activity near Amritsar airport', 3 flights diverted | Chandigarh News

Two incoming flights diverted

Suspected drone activity near Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport at Raja Sansi late on Sunday night led to a temporary suspension of runway operations, forcing two incoming flights to be diverted.

While Air India flight AI-855 from Delhi was sent back to its originating destination, IndiGo flight 6E-5028 from Mumbai was diverted to Chandigarh.

The disruption left several passengers inconvenienced, with some voicing anger over the sudden changes, alleging that no airport official was available to address their concerns. Airport Director Anirudh Kumar Sharma said the situation had returned to normal after 10.30 pm.

According to information, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel deployed at the airport spotted two to three drones hovering over the airport premises and surrounding areas around 9.30 pm on Sunday. They immediately alerted the control room, following which, the security arrangements were reviewed and flight operations were suspended as a precautionary measure.

Sharma said flight diversions were ordered in view of the reported drone activity and the situation normalised after 10.30 pm.

He added that the concerns of passengers following the sudden disruption were subsequently addressed.

The incident comes barely a month after suspected drone activity near the airport disrupted flight operations.

On September 6, drones were spotted near the runway and operational area between 9.40 pm and 9.50 pm, prompting the airport authorities to suspend operations for around 90 minutes. Seven incoming commercial flights, including those operated by Malaysia Airlines, Air India and IndiGo, were diverted to Delhi and Chandigarh. Notably, the district administration has already imposed a complete ban on flying drone cameras in rural areas surrounding the airport, citing aviation safety and security concerns.

The official order states that the airport handles frequent domestic and international flight movements through the day and night. The surrounding areas also have hotels and marriage palaces, where drones are often used to capture aerial footage during social functions.

The administration has warned that such an activity could be misused by anti-social elements and pose a threat to aviation safety.

The ban aims at preventing any untoward incident and ensure smooth

flight operations