Flight operations affected at Srinagar airport due to snowfall

Srinagar: Air traffic to and fro Kashmir was affected on Friday as several flights were cancelled due to snowfall across the valley, officials said here.

The fresh snowfall started early morning and continued till last reports came in.

While the higher reaches of Jammu and Kashmir experienced moderate to heavy snowfall, the areas in the plains received light to moderate snowfall.

“The flight operations at Srinagar airport have been suspended till further notice due to continuous snowfall and low visibility,” Director, Airport Authority of India (AAI), Srinagar Airport, Kuldeep Singh, told PTI.

He said the flight operations took place in the morning, but had to be suspended after 10 am due to low visibility and snowfall.

Most of the airlines, including, Air India, Air Asia, Indigo, Spice Jet and Vistara, have cancelled all their remaining flights for the day due to the bad weather, Singh said.

Other airlines also have cancelled several of their flights, he added.

The inclement weather has also resulted in the closure of the Srinagar-Jammu national highway – the only all-weather road connecting Kashmir valley with the rest of the country, the officials said.

The highway was closed for traffic due to landslides at Mehar, and slippery conditions of the road, they said.

The officials said road clearance operations were going on, but continuous snowfall and rain was making the job difficult.