'Unsung Hero': Mumbai Airport Praised For Seamlessly Handling Flight Surge Amid Pakistan Tensions
Pakistan closed its airspace for Indian airlines on April 24 in response to India's diplomatic measures against them following the terrorist attack in Pahalgam
After the closure of Pakistani airspace last month, which led to the rerouting of international flights, Mumbai Air Traffic Control (ATC) was praised for its 'seamless" handling of the increased air traffic.
Pakistan closed its airspace for Indian airlines on April 24 in response to India's diplomatic measures against them following the terrorist attack in Pahalgam on April 22 that killed at least 26 people.
'One unsung hero in the entire India-Pakistan escalation is Mumbai Airport and its staff. Nobody's talking about it. But they should be," wrote a LinkedIn user, Arjun Vaidya.
'While of course the media and all of us zoomed in on missiles, ceasefires, politics and military ops – Mumbai ATC was holding India's sky together. Silently. Seamlessly."
'Some 130 flights from Northern India for destinations in Europe, North and South America would take the Bhopal-Ahmedabad-Karachi route to Muscat, without touching Mumbai airspace, from where they would enter Europe. Now, after the closure of the Pakistani airspace, all these flights are coming to Mumbai airspace via Ahmedabad to enter Muscat," they added.
The traffic has also spiked on account of the recent closure of about 25 flight routes on Wednesday that allowed planes to enter Pakistan through Indian airspace, when the armed forces launched missile attacks on terror targets in Pakistan, as per sources.
On April 30, India also shut its airspace to Pakistan airlines as part of the retaliatory measure. On a normal day, Mumbai ATC handles between 950-970 arrivals and departures, including unscheduled flights, apart from some 2,000 flights overflying Mumbai skies.
(With agency inputs)
First Published:
May 12, 2025, 03:51 IST
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