India extends international flight ban till January end amid Omicron scare

Regular operations of all international flights were to resume from December 15 but were put “on hold” until further notice on December 1, as cases of the highly mutated Sars-CoV-2 variant started to emerge.

India has extended its international flight restrictions till January 2022, amid concerns over the Omricon variant of the coronavirus, according to a circular issued on Thursday by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

Scheduled international passenger services have been suspended since March 23, 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. (Representative use)

Regular operations of all international flights were to resume from December 15 but were put “on hold” until further notice on December 1, as cases of the highly mutated Sars-CoV-2 variant started to emerge.

“In a partial modification of circular dated 26-11-2021, the competent authority has decided to extend the suspension of Scheduled International commercial passenger services to/from India till 2359 hrs of 31st January 2022. This restriction shall not apply to international all-cargo operations and flights specifically approved by DGCA,” the circular said.

“However, international scheduled flights may be allowed on selected routes by the competent authority on case to case basis,” it added.

Scheduled international passenger services have been suspended since March 23, 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. But special international flights have been operating under the Vande Bharat Mission since May 2020 and under bilateral air bubble arrangements since July 2020.

Singapore, which was part of the list, was removed on Thursday.