Kashmir's international airport expected to be shut till May 10, control transferred to authorities

After the Indian military conducted 'Operation Sindoor', targeting Pakistan's infrastructure in retaliation to the inhuman terrorist attack in Pahalgam's Baisaran, Kashmir Valley's only civilian airport is completely deserted as authorities closed it down immediately after the strike.

All incoming and outgoing civilian flights from the region have been suspended and the airport is reserved only for military use.

For now, the airport has been closed down for the day and the officials on duty are not certain if the airport will reopen on Thursday. 

"There is only one morning flight available on Thursday from Srinagar to Delhi, which costs more than ₹50,000. Seems like the airport will be closed tommorow as well," explained Imaad (name changed), a local whose flight got cancelled on Wednesday morning. 

A travel agent said that they had received a notification that no civilian flights would enter or take off from the Srinagar Airport. 

"The airport's control seems to have been handed to the army."

According to locals, the movement of transport on the airport road is minimal, as if there were a hartal (shutdown). 

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"This road also leads to popular tourist destination Dodhpathri, which is known for widely spread meadows. Since the tourist destinations are shut, there is no movement, even if local tourists," a local resident walking on the airport road said.

He said the airport was shut and that tourists who used to visit the Valley in thousands have now stopped coming altogether. 

"That is why there are minimal vehicles plying on the road."

There have also been advisories issued against rumours of evacuation . "This is a rumour," a police official clarified.

India