New Delhi: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) extended Friday the suspension on international flights from and to India till May 31. This decision to extend the suspension has been taken keeping in view of the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. In the rapid rise in new infections, India has been reporting over 3,00,000 Covid-19 cases for more than seven days now. The figure may soon breach the four lakh-mark.
“…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.
DGCA added that scheduled international flights, however, may be allowed on selected routes on case to case basis.
It should be stated here that international flights have remained suspended in India since the implementation of the first lockdown in March 2020. However, flights have operated under the ‘Vande Bharat’ scheme, while India have established bio-bubble travel routes with some countries.
However, with the advent of the Indian variant of the virus, a number of countries have banned flights from India. Among them are Australia and United Kingdom. The US has also asked all its citizens living in India to return as quickly as possible.