Operations resumed at the Leh airport on Wednesday after it was shut on Tuesday as an IAF C-17 Globemaster heavy-lift transport blocked the runway there following a technical glitch.
The closure forced the diversion of two and cancellation of eight flights on Tuesday. “With the continuous efforts of concerned agencies, it is informed that..(the airport) is now available for operations...Hence, all commercial flights will be operating on 17.05.2023 (Wednesday) as per schedule. Wishing you all a very happy journey,” the airport authorities said in a tweet on Wednesday morning.
The Leh airport is a military one that is also used for passenger flights. The IAF uses the airport to support the military’s high-altitude deployments in Ladakh. The IAF operates 11 C-17 planes.
The airport authorities on Tuesday said almost all flights in and out of the airport were cancelled due to “unavoidable circumstances.”
IndiGo, Air India, SpiceJet, and Vistara operate 20 non-stop flights in and out of Leh.
Sources had said on Tuesday the technical glitch was not serious and the runway was likely to be operational by Wednesday. The C-17 was on a routine air maintenance sortie when it landed at Leh on Tuesday morning.
