India has extended the ban on scheduled international passenger flights until February 28, aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), said on Wednesday.
Scheduled international passenger flights have been suspended in India since March 23, 2020. However, under the air bubble pact, special passenger flights have been operating between India and selected countries since July 2020.
A bilateral air bubble allows flights between India and other nations with preconditions during the pandemic. At present, India has bilateral air bubble agreements with about 35 countries, including Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Canada, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Iraq, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, the Maldives, Mauritius, Nepal, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Russia, Rwanda, Seychelles, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Tanzania, Ukraine, the UAE, the UK, Uzbekistan and the US.
In a circular on Wednesday, DGCA stated: “The competent authority has decided to extend the suspension of scheduled international commercial passenger services to/from India till 23.59 hrs IST of February 28, 2022.”
This restriction shall not apply to international all-cargo operations and flights approved explicitly by the DGCA, it mentioned.
Fights under air bubble arrangement will not be affected, it noted.
Earlier on November 26, 2021, the DGCA had announced that India would resume scheduled international passenger flights from December 15, 2021.
While a day later, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked the Civil Aviation Ministry and the DGCA to review its decision in the wake of the rising concerns over the COVID-19 variant Omicron.
The DGCA, on December 1, 2021, revoked its November 26 decision without saying how long the suspension of scheduled international flights continues.
