Srinagar, Jammu, Leh airports closed for air traffic, Pakistan too stops flights from Lahore, 4 other airports

Srinagar, Jammu and Leh airports were among five airports closed on Wednesday for civilian air traffic shortly after an IAF jet crashed in Kashmir's Budgam district, officials said.

The move to close the five airports comes amid escalation of tension between India and Pakistan after IAF carried out strikes on terror bases in Pakistan.

Airports at Chandigarh and Amritsar were among those closed, according to airline officials.

The passengers were stranded at Amritsar airport as the flight operations were suspended:

In Srinagar, an official of the Airports Authority of India said, "The civilian air traffic has been suspended temporarily in view of the emergency".

While the official did not specify the nature of the emergency, it is believed the step was taken in view of an IAF jet crashing in Budgam district this morning.

Officials said they received instructions from air traffic controllers that the airports have been shut for civilian flights.

Some of the flights en route to Jammu, Leh and Srinagar airports have been diverted to their origin stations, they added.

The flare up in the cross-LoC shelling, which was initiated by Pakistani troops in early hours of Wednesday, has also resulted in security forces and other establishments being put on a heightened alert.

Meanwhile, Pakistan has stopped its domestic and international flight operations from Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, Sialkot and Islamabad airports.

With PTI inputs