Flight operations at Swami Vivekananda Airport in Raipur resumed fully on Thursday afternoon following the successful restoration of the critical DVOR (Doppler Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Radio Range) navigational system, which had gone unserviceable due to a lightning strike around 6:00 pm the previous day.

 

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) confirmed that the DVOR-key to aircraft en-route and terminal navigation-was brought back online by 6:30 pm Thursday evening, following a coordinated emergency response by its Communication Navigation and Surveillance (CNS) teams and other airport divisions. Operations had come to a near standstill after the lightning strike disabled the DVOR unit, situated just 160 metres from the runway. The incident had forced multiple inbound flights to divert due to the compounded unavailability of both DVOR and the already non-functional Instrument Landing System

 

(ILS). “Despite complex technical challenges, our well-trained CNS personnel, with support from all AAI sections, worked round the clock to restore the system. Normal flight movement resumed from 1400 IST,” said Raipur Airport Director Kishore Lehre, who oversaw the restoration process. While takeoffs and landings were suspended through much of Wednesday evening and Thursday morning, airport sources confirmed that both domestic arrivals and departures have since stabilised. No additional flight diversions were reported after 2 pm. Passengers were advised to check airline notices during the disruption period, and aviation authorities extended their gratitude to travellers for their patience and cooperation.