Flight operations at Pune airport began returning to normal from Saturday morning after a late-night runway blockage caused by an Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft incident disrupted services for several hours, leading to widespread cancellations, delays and diversions.
Departures resumed from 7.30am, followed by arrivals from 8am, with authorities indicating that air traffic would stabilise progressively through the day after emergency repair work was completed on priority.
The disruption began around 10.25pm on Friday when a fighter aircraft suffered an undercarriage failure while landing, rendering the runway unusable. According to IAF Air Traffic Control, it took nearly four to five hours to clear the stranded aircraft and restore the runway for flight operations.
The temporary closure caused major disruption, with multiple flights cancelled, delayed or diverted to nearby airports overnight.
In all, at least 43 arrivals and 48 departures were cancelled across airlines. IndiGo faced the maximum impact, cancelling 31 arrivals and 34 departures. Air India cancelled three arrivals and three departures, while SpiceJet cancelled two arrivals and three departures. Akasa Air reported two arrivals and three departures cancelled, and Air India Express cancelled five arrivals and five departures.
Apart from cancellations, several incoming flights were diverted to nearby airports such as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Goa International Airport and Surat Airport, while others were delayed due to the cascading impact of the runway closure.
The IAF said its aircraft developed a snag during landing and that all crew members were safe, adding that standard operating procedures were followed to secure the aircraft and clear the runway.
Minister of state for civil aviation and Pune MP Murlidhar Mohol said on Friday that the runway was temporarily unavailable due to the incident, adding that repair work was carried out “on a war footing” with safety as the top priority. He said operations were being restored in a phased manner.
“Runway repair work has since been completed on a war footing, with safety maintained as the top priority throughout. Departure operations will resume from 07:30 AM, and arrival operations will commence from 08:00 AM. Air traffic in Pune is expected to gradually return to normal over the course of the day,” Mohol said in a post on X earlier in the morning.
Pune airport director Santosh Dhoke said coordinated efforts helped restore operations within hours. “The runway at Pune Airport was temporarily unavailable following an incident involving an IAF aircraft late last night. Immediate action was taken in coordination with the Indian Air Force and all concerned agencies to remove the aircraft. The work was executed on priority, ensuring that all safety protocols were strictly adhered to at every stage,” he said.
“We have resumed departures from 7.30am and arrivals from 8am today, and operations are now gradually normalising. While the disruption did lead to cancellations and diversions, every effort was made to minimise inconvenience to passengers, and we expect flight schedules to stabilise fully over the course of the day,” he added.
Officials said some residual delays may continue as airlines work to clear the backlog, but normalcy is expected to be restored as the day progresses.
