Bengaluru, Mar 24 (PTI): An Air India flight from New Delhi to Bengaluru was diverted to Chennai on Monday due to certain "operational reasons on the runway," sources said.

Air India confirmed that its flight AI2415 was diverted to Chennai.

The flight departed from Delhi at 9.55 am and was scheduled to reach Bengaluru at 12.50 pm.

It is learned that the plane was refuelled in Chennai before leaving for Bengaluru at 1.38 pm.

"Yes, there was a diversion for our Delhi-Bengaluru flight. It was only for a short while, and the flight returned immediately after the restriction was lifted," an Air India official told PTI.

The flight was diverted to Chennai due to operational reasons and returned to Bengaluru shortly thereafter, he added.

However, a source at Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), which manages Kempegowda International Airport, said there was no such restriction.

He explained that a notice is issued every Monday stating that flights cannot land or take off from the south runway for an hour due to maintenance.

"All flights and airline companies are aware of the restriction on the south runway," the source said.

"To land on the northern runway, which is older, pilots require specific expertise. If a pilot does not have the necessary certification, they cannot land on the northern runway—only for that one-hour window," the source explained.

He emphasised that there is no restriction, but this practice has been followed for a long time.

"We haven’t stopped any aircraft from landing, but it needs to be checked with the airline if they faced any issues," he added.

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Jammu, May 12 (PTI): Security forces are engaging suspected drones observed along the International Border in Samba district of Jammu region on Monday, an Army said.

This fresh incident of drone activity along the borderline comes barely hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first address to the nation following Operation Sindoor and the meeting of the DGMOs of India and Pakistan.

The Army, however, said there is no need to be alarmed.

“A small number of suspected drones have been observed near Samba in J&K. They are being engaged,” it said.

In the backdrop of the situation, several areas witnessed blackouts in Samba, Kathua, Rajouri, and Jammu.

Lights were switched off at the cave shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi and along its track as a precautionary measure, sources said.

On Monday, talks between the DGMOs were held during which issues related to the continuing commitment that both sides must not fire a single shot or initiate any aggressive or inimical action against each other were discussed, the Indian Army said.

It was also agreed that both sides would consider immediate measures to ensure troop reduction along the borders and in forward areas, it added.

The situation remained largely peaceful across Jammu and Kashmir, with no incidents of ceasefire violation reported along the Indo-Pak border Sunday overnight — marking the first calm night after 18 days of hostilities following the Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 people — mostly tourists — dead.

India and Pakistan on Saturday reached an understanding to cease all firing and military actions on land, air, and sea with immediate effect, following four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes that brought the two countries to the brink of full-scale war.

Eighteen days of intense hostilities following the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor, which brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war, ended with a ceasefire that restored calm along the Line of Control, the International Border, and the hinterland in Jammu and Kashmir. The Army thwarted Pakistan’s Hamas-style kamikaze drone attacks during the escalation.

Since the night of April 24, hours after India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, Pakistani troops repeatedly targeted Indian positions along the LoC — beginning in the Kashmir Valley and quickly expanding to the Jammu region.

The latest hostilities began in the northern districts of Kupwara and Baramulla in the Kashmir Valley, before spreading southwards to Rajouri, Poonch, Akhnoor, and the Pargwal sector along the International Border in Jammu district. The firing affected five border districts — Baramulla, Kupwara, Poonch, Rajouri, and Jammu.

The recent round of cross-border firing further undermined the ceasefire agreement reached in February 2021, which has largely been seen as ineffective due to Pakistan’s frequent violations along the 740-km-long LoC.

The April 22 terror attack, which claimed the lives of 26 people — mostly tourists — in Pahalgam’s Baisaran valley, triggered a strong response from the central government.

The India-Pakistan border stretches over 3,300 kilometers, divided into three segments: the International Border (IB), spanning about 2,400 km from Gujarat to Akhnoor in Jammu; the 740-km-long Line of Control (LoC) that divides Jammu and Kashmir; and the 110-km-long Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL), which separates the Siachen Glacier region.