International flights ban: The government at the Centre has extended the suspension of international scheduled commercial passenger flights to and from India till September 30. In a statement issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA, it has been informed that the ban that was scheduled to end on August 31 has been extended further till September 30 now.

The DGCA further said, “However, international scheduled flights may be allowed on selected routes by the competent authority on a case-to-case basis.”

Apparently, the ban on international flights was supposed to end on August 31, 2021. International passenger flights were suspended in India on March 23, 2020 due to the pandemic. But the Indian government started the Vande Bharat Mission in May 2020 to help people stuck in other countries. India also established bilateral air bubbles with selected countries from July 2020.

The latest circular issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) continued to keep international cargo flights and those approved by the regulator to operate.

The DGCA also said that scheduled international flights might be allowed on selected routes on a case to case basis.

The Indian government banned international commercial flights since March 23, 2020, to check the spread of the Covid-19 infection. It eased the restrictions on flights in certain countries with which India has had an air bubble arrangement during the past year.

The DGCA in its circular also state, “In a partial modification on a circular dated June 26, 2021, the competent authority has further extended the validity of the circular issued on the subject cited above regarding Scheduled International commercial passenger service to/from India till 2359 hrs IST of 30th September 2021”.

However, the restriction was not applicable to international all-cargo operations and flights approved by DGCA. Meanwhile, India formed several air bubble pacts with nearly 25 countries including the US, the UK, the UAE, Kenya, Bhutan and France.

In wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, all scheduled international flights to and from India remain were banned from March 23 last year. Since then, the aviation authority has extended the ban several times. Even though domestic flights resumed in May last year, international travel remained suspended as COVID-19 cases remained at high levels.