At this pandemic time, here comes a piece of good news for the air travellers. As per a report by Deccan Chronicle, the Vijayawada International Airport has resumed operation of international flights to the Gulf countries such as Dubai, Kuwait, Muscat. Moreover, the airport has also resumed flight operations to Singapore from Wednesday after a gap of nearly two months since April 3.
Though a scheduled international flight was supposed to arrive at the airport on Tuesday itself, it was cancelled at the last minute for some reasons. However, on Wednesday, an international flight from Dubai carrying 68 passengers including children, arrived at Vijayawada International Airport marking the resumption of international flights from the airport at about 6 pm and the flight departed with a few passengers bound to Mumbai after some time. The airport authorities have scheduled arrival and departure of both international and domestic flights at the airport for the whole month of June.
Airport Director said as many as 490 international flights had landed at Vijayawada Airport in phase one of the Vande Bharat Mission.
“All facilities are made for passengers’ comfort. There will be 10 international services per week, however, there will be no services on Sundays,” he added.
However, on Sunday, the UAE extended a ban on entry from travellers coming from India till June 30. The ban was initially imposed on April 25, after a surge in Covid-19 cases in India.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Vijayawada International Airport Director G Madhusudhana Rao said that the airport had urged the authorities to suspend operation of international flights for two months for the developmental works at the airport. He said the airport, however, has resumed international flights from Wednesday in addition to operation of both scheduled and unscheduled including domestic and international flights.
Mean-while, The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday extended the ban on international commercial passenger flights by one month till June 30, 2021. The ban has been in place since March 2020.
However, it said that the Covid-related restrictions will not apply to international all-cargo operations and flights specifically approved by the DGCA.
Scheduled international passenger services have been suspended in India since March 23, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But special international flights have been operating under the Vande Bharat Mission since May and under bilateral “air bubble” arrangements with selected countries since July.
