Aviation regulator DGCA on Wednesday said the suspension of scheduled international flights to and from the country has been extended till July 31 amid the coronavirus pandemic. In the wake of the pandemic, overseas flights were suspended in late March, while cargo flights and those approved by the DGCA have been permitted to operate.
The ban on scheduled commercial overseas flights was supposed to end on June 30 – after a gap of nearly 15 months.
Dedicated cargo flights, flights under the bilateral air bubble pacts with select countries will continue to operate, the civil aviation watchdog 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 July, 2021,” the DGCA circular said.
International flight services to and from India remain suspended since March 23 due to the pandemic. But special international flights have been operating under the Vande Bharat Mission since May 2020, and under bilateral “air bubble” arrangements with select countries since July 2020.
Under an air bubble pact between two countries, special international flights can be operated by their airlines between their territories.
However, international travel remains muted worldwide as new variants of COVID-19 continue to emerge.
Meanwhile, India recorded 45,951 new covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours ending 8 am on Wednesday, according to data from the Union Health Ministry. 817 deaths were reported on Tuesday, the lowest since April 9.
There are a total of 3,03,62,848 cases in the country while at least 2,94,27,330 people have recovered from the disease. Active cases have dropped to 5,37,064 and the recovery rate has touched 96.92 per cent, the ministry said.
Out of the new coronavirus cases, Kerala reported 13,550 new cases, while Maharashtra had 8,085. Maharashtra reported 238 deaths in the last 24 hours. The overall death toll has reached 3,98,454 and 33,28,54,527 people have been administered at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine so far.
