TV
Two scheduled flights from Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar were cancelled on Thursday (May 8), one due to national security-linked airspace restrictions in parts of northern and western India and another due to ‘technical constraints’.
The affected flights included one heading to Hindon (Ghaziabad) and another connecting Patna to Chandigarh via Bhubaneswar, informed BPIA Director Prasanna Pradhan.
He confirmed the cancellations and noted that they were precautionary, aligning with broader directives issued by aviation authorities amid heightened alert. While Bhubaneswar remains outside the conflict-sensitive zones, indirect operational constraints led to the disruption.
“One flight from Bhubaneswar to Ghaziabad Hindon was directly affected as the latter has been closed temporarily as per the government’s directives. Another flight to Patna was cancelled for the second day in a row by the airline operating it due to technical defects,” said Pradhan.
Wider Disruptions at Key Airports
The flight cancellations are part of a nationwide impact on air travel, following India's ‘Operation Sindoor’. Several key airports, such as those in Hindon, Chandigarh, Jammu, Srinagar, Amritsar, and Pathankot, faced temporary suspensions of civilian flights as part of the security protocol from May 7 to May 10.
New Flights from Bhubaneswar
Meanwhile, the Airport Director confirmed that all other aircraft and operations are functioning normally and there is no need for panic. He also said that a daily flight from Bhubaneswar to Visakhapatnam has been announced and will begin operations this June. He, however, did not provide a specific time slot and date for the same.
Country-wide normal operations are expected to resume after the airspace restrictions are reviewed post-May 10, subject to advisories from the Union government.
