Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport in Chandigarh reopened for normal daylight operations on 7 November, ending a 12-day NOTAM that had limited flights to an early-morning window while the runway underwent polymer-modified emulsion treatment. The civil-works team completed the most disruptive resurfacing ahead of schedule, allowing airlines to restore schedules and re-open forward sales in time for Diwali and the winter charter rush.
During the partial closure passenger throughput had slumped by nearly 80 %, and some carriers diverted wide-body positioning flights to Delhi and Amritsar, adding costly surface transfers for corporate groups. From 7 November daytime slots (05:00–23:00) are fully available again; a residual night closure (23:00–05:00) will stay in force until 18 November to finish grooving and lighting calibration. Rotary-wing movements remain permitted with prior approval.
![Chandigarh Airport back to full-day operations after runway repairs]()
The reopening is good news for the region’s fast-growing tech and biotech clusters, many of which rely on same-day connections via Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru for client visits and expatriate rotations. Travel buyers should still verify updated flight numbers because several IndiGo and Vistara services have been retimed by 15–20 minutes to balance crew-duty limits.
Longer term, Airports Authority of India officials said the new surface is expected to extend pavement life by seven years and enable Category III-B landing certification—critical for winter fog operations that often cripple North-Indian air travel.
During the partial closure passenger throughput had slumped by nearly 80 %, and some carriers diverted wide-body positioning flights to Delhi and Amritsar, adding costly surface transfers for corporate groups. From 7 November daytime slots (05:00–23:00) are fully available again; a residual night closure (23:00–05:00) will stay in force until 18 November to finish grooving and lighting calibration. Rotary-wing movements remain permitted with prior approval.
The reopening is good news for the region’s fast-growing tech and biotech clusters, many of which rely on same-day connections via Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru for client visits and expatriate rotations. Travel buyers should still verify updated flight numbers because several IndiGo and Vistara services have been retimed by 15–20 minutes to balance crew-duty limits.
Longer term, Airports Authority of India officials said the new surface is expected to extend pavement life by seven years and enable Category III-B landing certification—critical for winter fog operations that often cripple North-Indian air travel.
