Government has extended international flight suspension further till December 31, in a new order passed Govt, the international flight ban has been extended by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) amid the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic. However, selected flights shall be allowed on case to case basis, the DGCA order read.
The DGCA, however, noted that it will only allow ‘selected flights’ to operate to and from India on a “case to case basis”, noting that the restriction will not apply to international all-cargo operations and flights specifically approved by it.
The notification, titled ‘Travel and Visa restrictions related to COVID-19’ said, “In partial modification of circular dated 26-06-2020, 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 1ST of 31St December, 2020.”
The aviation regulator had earlier extended the suspension of international flight operations till November 30 and similarity allowed planes to fly on select routes. However, special international flights have been operating under the Vande Bharat Mission since May and under the bilateral ‘air bubble’ arrangements with selected countries since July.
Despite the international flight suspension, anyone who wants to travel to foreign countries benefits from the air bubble arrangements. Under an air bubble pact between two countries, special international flights can be operated by their airlines between their territories. As of now, India has air bubble pacts with around 22 countries including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Bhutan, Canada, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Iraq, Japan, Kenya, Maldives, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Rwanda, Tanzania, the UAE, the UK, Ukraine and the US.
Additionally, the country has been operating special international flights under the Vande Bharat Mission since May this year. It is worth noting that the scheduled international passenger services have been suspended in India since 23 March due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Talking about the COVID-19 pandemic, the deadly pathogen has affected 92.66 lakh people in India, claiming 1.35 lakh lives. Meanwhile, the number of recovered persons in India has crossed the 86.79 lakh-mark with active cases comprising 4.88 percent of the total caseload, the Union Health Ministry informed.
“60.50 percent of 524 case fatalities reported in the last 24 hours are concentrated Delhi, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Haryana, Punjab, and UP. Maharashtra, Delhi, UP and West Bengal are the common states among the top 6 states contributing maximum to new cases as well as daily deaths,” the Centre said on Thursday.
