Amritsar: Multiple suspected drones were spotted around the operational area of Amritsar's international airport Sunday night, Indian news agency ANI reported, prompting authorities to divert seven flights. Airport Director Anirudh Kumar said the Air Traffic Control (ATC) unit received information from the Indian Air Force at around 9.45 pm local time regarding suspected drone activity over the airfield. This prompted all flight operations to be suspended for 90 minutes.

According to Deutsche Welle, "Two of the flights were diverted to Chandigarh and five of them were diverted to Delhi," a Delhi airport official told the Hindustan Times. Malaysia Airlines, Air India, Air India Express, and IndiGo flights were among those diverted, local news agencies reported.

Amritsar's Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport is located about 30 kilometers (~18 miles) from India's border with Pakistan. Reports suggested that the drones may have been flown locally, but the sensitive nature of the airport's location prompted swift security action from all agencies involved.

Amritsar police told the Indian Express that the drones were flown during a sports tournament in a nearby village. "These drones originated from the video recording of a sports tournament. Drones were used for this purpose without permission. It is not allowed to fly drones in an 8-kilometer radius of the airport. We will take legal action in this matter," said Raja Sansi Station House Officer Gurpreet Singh.