Canada to extend flight suspension to India by another month

There is pressure upon the government of Justin Trudeau to act on this matter after several cases of the Delta variant of the coronavirus identified in India were reported in Canada.

The Canadian government is expected to extend the suspension of direct flights from India by another month.

Air India flight 187 from New Delhi lands at Pearson Airport in Toronto on April 23, 2021. The flight was the last landing allowed after all flights from India to Canada were suspended. (AP)

The announcement in this regard will be made later on Monday by Canadian officials. The decision has been intimated in advance to the Indian government, an official confirmed.

The suspension was originally announced on April 22 and was scheduled to last for 30 days. However, it was extended by another 30 days on May 21 and now another extension will be imposed for 30 days.

The move was originally precipitated by increasing pressure upon the government of Justin Trudeau to act on this matter after several cases of the Delta variant of the coronavirus originating in India were reported in Canada. There had also been mounting demands from provincial governments to ban these flights at the earliest because of the risk of transmission of cases into Canada.

While that prohibition came into place amid a record surge in cases in India in April, with the crisis lasting through May, it will remain in place despite a significant decrease in daily cases being reported in India now.

It also said that earlier in the week, that number was at 1,187, thereby denoting a spike of nearly two-third in the number of cases. Health authorities in the province of Ontario have also warned that the variant could well dominate the caseload within a month. Public health officials have yet to update the exact number of daily cases as yet, though the count for the other three variants is provided regularly.

Prior to the flight ban, both Air Canada and Air India were operating almost daily flights between the Canadian cities of Toronto and Vancouver and New Delhi in India in an air corridor arrangement that came into place last summer. Passengers from India who arrive via an indirect route, through a third country, will have to provide a pre-departure negative coronavirus test result from the last port before continuing their journey.

Easing of norms for air travel is also expected on Monday, particularly with regard to exemption for the mandatory hotel quarantine for citizens and permanent residents who are fully vaccinated. For now, all those arriving require a negative RT-PCR test result prior to boarding and have to take another test on arrival and remain in the designated hotel till the result is available. Even with another negative result, they have to complete the full 14-day self-isolation period.