As many as nine flights from Delhi to Gujarat were cancelled on Thursday evening due to the suspension of flight operations at Ahmedabad airport. The development came soon after an Air India flight crashed into a residential building minutes after take-off with 242 passengers on board. Planes heading to the city from other parts of the country had also turned back after the accident.
“Flight AI 171 from Ahmedabad to London, Gatwick, earlier today, was involved in a crash shortly after take-off, outside the airport. As a result, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, Ahmedabad, is currently not operational. All flight operations are temporarily suspended until further notice,” read an official statement from the airport authorities soon after the incident.
The airport was partially opened on Thursday evening after the shutdown but flight services remain affected. Airlines have also urged passengers to check for the latest updates before heading to the airport for upcoming flights on the route.
According to reports, four Indigo five Air India flights from from the Indira Gandhi International Airport i Delhi were cancelled after the accident. An IndiGo airlines flight had also returned to Kolkata an hour after takeoff — having departed minutes after the crash in Ahmedabad.