AMRITSAR: Two flights were diverted after suspected drone activity was reported near Sri Guru Ram Das Ji International Airport in Amritsar around 9.40pm on Sunday, prompting authorities to temporarily shut the airspace as a precautionary measure, said Anirudh Sharma, in-charge of Air Traffic Control (ATC).Sharma said Air India flight AI-855, arriving from Delhi, was sent back to Delhi, while IndiGo flight 6E-5028, arriving from Mumbai, was diverted to Chandigarh.The airspace was closed around 9.50pm after information was received about the movement of two to three drones near the airport. Flight operations resumed around 11.15pm following a security review.The incident left several passengers stranded, with some reportedly protesting over the lack of information from officials.A preliminary police investigation indicated that the drones might have been flown to videograph a sports tournament, reportedly a kabaddi competition, in a nearby village. However, drone operations are prohibited within an eight-kilometre radius of the airport.Amritsar Rural SSP Kanwalpreet Singh Chahal said police teams had been deployed in nearby villages and a search operation was under way to ascertain the nature of the drone activity. Further action would be taken based on the findings of the investigation, he said.Police personnel also visited the area as part of the probe. The police appealed to residents not to fly drones without permission, stressing that the airport falls within a high-security zone where such activity is prohibited.A similar incident was reported in September, when as many as five suspected drones were spotted near the airport, forcing seven commercial flights to be diverted to Delhi and Chandigarh.A preliminary inquiry had then indicated that the drones were being used during a sports tournament in a nearby village. Sunday’s incident has once again raised concerns over compliance with restrictions on drone operations around the airport.
