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India extends international passenger flights ban till May 31 amid Covid-19 surge
International flights were first suspended in March 2020 after a nationwide lockdown was imposed to tackle the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. The government launched the Vande Bharat Mission in May 2020 to fly home Indians stranded abroad.
India extends international passenger flights ban till May 31 amid Covid surge
hindustantimes.com | Written by Kanishka Sarkar
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday extended the suspension on international flights from and to India till May 31 in view of the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, during which the country has been reporting more than 300,000 Covid-19 cases daily for over a week now.
“...the competent authority has further extended the validity of circular issued on the subject cited above regarding Scheduled International commercial passenger services to/from India till 2359 hrs IST of 31 May, 2021. This restriction shall not apply to international all-cargo operations and fights specifically approved by DGCA,” the aviation regulatory body said in a circular.
It added that scheduled international flights, however, may be allowed on selected routes on case to case basis.
International flights were first suspended in March 2020 after a nationwide lockdown was imposed to tackle the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. The government launched the Vande Bharat Mission in May 2020 to fly home Indians stranded abroad. “Vande Bharat Mission began during the first wave to repatriate our stranded & distressed citizens & has since then facilitated nearly 82.9 lakh people. Despite personal risk, the corona warriors of civil aviation ensure that the mission continues ahead undaunted,” the Union minister for civil aviation Hardeep Singh Puri wrote on Twitter this morning.
India currently has a bilateral air bubble arrangement for the operation of special international passenger flights with 28 countries, including Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Canada, France, Germany, Iraq, Japan, the Maldives, Nigeria, Qatar, the UAE, the UK and the USA. The other countries with which India has such a pact are Bangladesh, Bhutan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Kuwait, Nepal, Netherlands, Oman, Russia, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
Meanwhile, several nations, including Australia and Hong Kong, have imposed restrictions on flights connecting them with India amid a massive uptick in cases in the country.
