On Sunday, India has extended the Covid-induced suspension on scheduled international passenger flights till September 30, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said.
The international scheduled flights on selected routes might be allowed on a case-to-case basis by the competent authority, DGCA added.
Following the spike in the Covid-19 cases, India suspended scheduled international flights on March 23, 2020. But Since May 2020, India has been operating special international flights under its Vande Bharat Mission. In addition, bilateral ‘air bubble’ arrangements have also been made with several countries since July 2020. These agreements allow flight services to resume with these 25 countries, including the UK, the US, the United Arab Emirates, Bhutan, France, and Kenya. Under the arrangement, airlines can operate special international flights between the two territories.
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The DGCA also said in the circular that the suspension would not affect international all-cargo operations and flights it had explicitly approved.
At present, India has bilateral agreements with Bahrain, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Canada, Germany, France, Japan, Iraq, Kuwait, Kenya, Nepal, the Maldives, Nigeria, the Netherlands, Qatar, Oman, Rwanda, Russia, Seychelles, Tanzania, Sri Lanka, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, the UK, and the US.
However, following the second wave of Covid-19, certain countries such as Australia, Canada, Bangladesh, Germany, France, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Italy, Kuwait, Iran, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Singapore banned air travel from and to India. Some countries lifted the ban later, and many others are yet to do so.
