Amritsar airport on alert after drones sighted; 7 flights diverted
What's the story
The Sri Guru Ram Das Ji International Airport in Amritsar was put on high alert late Sunday night after two to four suspected drones or drone-like objects were spotted near the runway. The unidentified flying objects were reportedly seen approaching the airport from the direction of Rajala village and hovering over the runway and other sensitive areas for several minutes.
Security response
Seven flights diverted to Delhi, Chandigarh
The sighting of the suspected drones prompted the Air Traffic Control (ATC) to alert security agencies at the airport.
As a precautionary measure, seven incoming flights were diverted to Delhi and Chandigarh.
The affected flights included Malaysia Airlines MH-118 from Kuala Lumpur, IndiGo 6E-5028 from Mumbai, IndiGo 6E-2045 from Delhi, and Air India AI-479 from Delhi.
Police
Airport operations were suspended from around 9:50pm to 11:15pm
Airport Director Anirudh Kumar Sharma said airport operations were suspended from around 9:50pm to 11:15pm following a report from the Indian Air Force that drones had been spotted across the airfield around the time several aircraft were scheduled to land.
"Following our Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for drone sightings, a Joint Action Committee was activated and assembled...They determined that the drone activity could disrupt scheduled landings, so the decision was made to close the airfield," he said.
Flights
Everything has returned to normal
Since the airport operations were suspended, around seven aircraft that were arriving were diverted.
"Two flights were diverted to Chandigarh, and five were diverted to Delhi. Around 23:00 hours (11:00 PM), the Joint Action Committee assessed that the situation was under control and—since there was no further drone activity—decided to resume normal operations; we declared operations open starting at 23:15 hours."
He said everything has returned to normal and the matter is being handled by the police.