No International Flights operation till July 31, some on selected routes may be allowed: DGCA

No International Flights till July 31: The aviation regulator DGCA said on Friday it was extending the suspension of scheduled international passenger flights in the country till July 31 but added that some international scheduled services on selected routes may be permitted on a case to case basis.

Scheduled worldwide passenger flights had been suspended in India on March 23 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Modifying its June 26 round that said that scheduled worldwide passenger flights will stay suspended until July 15, 2020, the regulator said on Friday it has determined to increase the deadline to July 31, 2020.

However, this circular also mentions, ‘International Scheduled flights may be allowed on selected routes by the competent authority on case to case basis.’ This refers to finalizing air bubbles or air bridges with some countries. A senior official in the Ministry of Civil Aviation told, ‘negotiations are underway with a few countries but nothing has been finalized yet.’ Indian Govt has received requests from concerned authorities in several countries including the US, France, Germany among others asking if they can be allowed to participate in the transportation of passengers along the line being conducted by Air India under Vande Bharat Mission.

Air India and different non-public home airways have been working for unscheduled worldwide repatriation flights beneath the Vande Bharat Mission, which began on May 6 by the Central authorities.

India resumed scheduled home passenger flights on May 25, after a spot of two months.

India suspended all the domestic and international flight services in the last week of March. The domestic flights have started operations in limited routes after a gap of two months in May. The domestic airlines have ferried close to two million passengers since then, a senior government official earlier said.

The international passenger flight services in the country will resume in a phased manner during ‘Unlock 2.0’, the ministry of home affairs said on Monday. “International air travel of passengers has been permitted in a limited manner under the Vande Bharat mission. Further opening-up will take place in a calibrated manner,” the central government said in a statement.

Under the fourth phase of the mission, Air India will send 114 flights to 17 countries across the world. These countries are Canada, the US, the UK, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Kyrgyzstan, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Thailand, South Africa, Russia, Australia, Myanmar, Japan, Ukraine and Vietnam.

Also, VFS Global, a visa outsourcing and technology services provider for governments and diplomatic missions worldwide, is all set to resume visa application services in India. Travelers will be able to apply for specific visa categories for Belarus, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Portugal, South Korea, Turkey, UAE, and the United Kingdom.