International Flights In India To Remain Suspended Till August 31

Mumbai: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has said that scheduled international commercial passenger services to/from India shall remain suspended till August 31.

In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, all international flights to and from India have been banned since March 23 last year. The ban on international commercial flights was due to end on July 31, 2021.

The decision comes amid the threat of a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and the emergence of a delta version of the virus in several countries.

The DGCA in its latest circular said that the ban will remain in force till 2359 hrs of Indian Standard Time (IST) of August 31, 2021. However, this will not apply to cargo flights and those approved by the regulatory body.

“This restriction will not apply to international all-cargo operations and specifically to flights approved by DGCA. However, international scheduled flights may be permitted on select routes by the competent authority on a case to case basis,” the circular said.

Despite widespread restrictions on international travel, some flights were later allowed to operate to bring back stranded citizens or eligible cases.

India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) signed bilateral air bubble agreements with over 28 countries for the movement of eligible citizens in the wake of Covid restrictions. India signed mutual pacts with Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Canada, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Iraq, Japan, Kenya, Kuwait, Maldives, Nepal, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Russia, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America and Uzbekistan.

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