India-Pakistan Tensions: IndiGo Extends Suspension of Flights To Almaty and Tashkent Till June 14

Amid ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan, IndiGo has suspended its flights to Tashkent and Almaty till 14 June, reported news agency Press Trust of India (PTI) on Thursday, citing an official.

Earlier, the country's largest airline had announced the suspension of flights on the route till May 7 amid ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan post the Pahalgam terror attack. The recent development has come days after India launched a missile strike on Pakistan under the codename 'Operation Sindoor'.

Pakistan Airspace Closure

IndiGo operates Airbus narrow-body aircraft to the cities located in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. But the closure of Pakistan airspace on April 24, has hugely impacted IndiGo and other Indian airlines' operations over the past few days.

"With the same restrictions and limited rerouting options, unfortunately, Almaty and Tashkent are outside the operational range of IndiGo's current fleet," PTI quoted IndiGo officials as saying.

The closure of Pakistan airspace impacted IndiGo's flight operations on more than 50 international routes. Consequently, IndiGo flights are now required to take longer routes, and hence they may be subject to slight schedule adjustments. IndiGo had earlier cancelled flights enroute to Almaty and Tashkent from Delhi April 27 to May 7, reported PTI.

India-Pakistan Tensions

Indian airlines are optinhg for flight cancellations, rescheduling and rerouting as a preventive measure post Pakistan airspace closure due to tensions between two nations due to Pahalgam terrror attack. The cross-border firing after Operation Sindoor, has further escalated the situation.

Indian armed forces targeted more than 9 locations of terrorist organisation in Pakistan in Operation Sindoor executed on Wednesday. "Operation Sindoor was successfully executed because our formidable & professionally-trained Armed Forces were equipped with high-quality equipment," said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

The operation coincided with heavy cross-border firing by Pakistan forces near Jammu and Kashmir which killed more than 8 people and injured many.

In the wake of recent developments related to India-Pakistan border tensions, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday chaired a high-level meeting with Secretaries of various Ministries and Departments of the Government of India to review national preparedness and inter-ministerial coordination in light of recent developments concerning national security. He also reviewed the planning and preparation by ministries to deal with further escalation of situation. PM Modi stressed the need for seamless coordination among ministries and agencies to uphold operational continuity and institutional resilience.

Secretaries have been directed to undertake a comprehensive review of their respective ministry's operations and to ensure fool-proof functioning of essential systems, with special focus on readiness, emergency response, and internal communication protocols.
Secretaries detailed their planning with a Whole of Government approach in the current situation.

All ministries have identified their actionables in relation to India-Pakistan conflict and are strengthening processes. Ministries are ready to deal with all kinds of emerging situations.
A range of issues were discussed during the meeting.These included, among others, strengthening of civil defence mechanisms, efforts to counter misinformation and fake news, and ensuring the security of critical infrastructure. Ministries were also advised to maintain close coordination with state authorities and ground-level institutions.