E-Paper
India allows scheduled international flights from Dec 15. Some restrictions apply
Scheduled international passenger flights to and from India were suspended in March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. These will resume from December 15
NEW DELHI: India will allow scheduled international flights to all countries from December 15, according to an official order issued by the civil aviation directorate on Friday.
Scheduled international passenger flights to and from India were suspended in March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The matter has been reviewed and the competent authority has decided to resume the scheduled commercial international passenger services to/from India with effect from 15 December 2021,” the order by the office of Director General of Civil Aviation said.
HT has reviewed the order.
Indians are currently flying to and from India currently under air bubble arrangements that allow passengers of two countries to fly with some restrictions. India has air-bubble pacts with 28 countries, including the US, UK, UAE and France.
From December 14 midnight, this arrangement will come to an end.
“Resumption of scheduled commercial international passenger services with effect from 15 December, 2021 would imply reversion to bilaterally agreed capacity entitlements and termination of air bubble arrangements. However, due to prevailing Covid-19 situation, the capacity entitlements shall be as per the category of countries based on enlistment of countries as “at-risk” from time to time by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW),” the document said.
Flights to countries that are not classified as “at-risk” can resume to full capacity entitlement according to the bilateral air service agreements.
Europe including the UK and other 13 countries - South Africa, Brazil, Bangladesh, Botswana, China, Mauritius, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Singapore, Hong Kong and Israel - are currently classified as “at-risk” by the Union health ministry.
Flights to these “at-risk” countries can resume to 75% of the full capacity entitlements under bilateral air service agreements if there is an air bubble agreement with the foreign country. At least seven flights a week would be allowed.
In case of “at-risk” countries with whom India did not have an air bubble agreement, only 50% of pre-Covid operations of Indian or foreign carrier, or 50% of bilateral capacity entitlements will be allowed.
Earlier this week, Bansal spoke about resuming scheduled international flights “very soon” amid a continuing fall in the number of Covid-19 cases in the country -- currently, daily cases are the lowest since last June -- riding vaccinations, and swelling domestic air passenger traffic, now up to almost pre-pandemic levels of 400,000 a day. “Normalisation of international operations is expected to resume, very soon, by the end of the calendar year,” he said on Wednesday.
