Andaman airspace closed for 3 hours for high altitude weapon test

Port Blair: The airspace over Andaman and Nicobar Islands was closed for three hours from 7 am on Friday for high altitude weapon test by the tri-services command, an official said.

A senior Andaman and Nicobar Command official said, "Like today, the airspace over and around Andaman and Nicobar Islands will be closed tomorrow for three hours (7 am to 10 am). We have already issued Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) on May 16 and instructed that no civilian aircraft will be allowed to fly over Andaman on May 23 and May 24."

"Airspace over and around the Andaman and Nicobar Islands with maximum corridor length of around 500 km will be restricted between 01:30 and 04:30 Universal Time Coordinated UTC (7 am and 10 am IST) on May 23 and 24," the excerpts of the NOTAM said.

In the context of airspace closure, the official said, "We have successfully done a high-altitude weapon test today and tomorrow a similar test will be done. This is a routine practice here in Andaman and Nicobar Islands as we have done similar tests in the past also."

The Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC), is the only tri-services command in India.