- Thursday, April 25, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
CANADA has extended again its ban imposed on passenger flights arriving directly from India till September 21 owing to risks posed by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. The country’s federal transport ministry said this on Tuesday (10).
In April, the North American country banned all direct flights to and from India when the second pandemic wave hit the South Asian nation. The date of reopening the flights has been postponed many times.
“Protecting the health and safety of Canadians continues to be our top priority. After reviewing public health data, we have decided to extend the direct flight ban between Canada and India until September 21, 2021,” Canada’s transport minister Omar Alghabra tweeted on Tuesday.
“The Government of Canada has suspended flights from India until September 21, 2021. During that period, passengers who travel to Canada from India via an indirect route will need to obtain a pre-departure negative COVID-19 molecular test result from a third country before continuing their journey to Canada,” Transport Canada said in a statement on Monday (9).
“Travellers who have previously tested positive for COVID-19 must provide proof of a positive COVID-19 molecular test conducted between 14 and 90 days before departure, instead of a negative COVID-19 molecular test. This proof must be obtained in a third country before the continuation of the journey to Canada. You might need to seek entry and stay in a third country for at least 14 days,” it said.
The Canadian government also continues to monitor the epidemiological situation and will be working closely with its Indian counterpart and aviation operators to ensure that appropriate procedures are followed to see safe returns of direct flights as soon as the condition improves, the release added.
“Based on the latest public health advice from the Public Health Agency of Canada, Transport Canada is extending the Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) that restricts all direct commercial and private passenger flights to Canada from India until September 21, 2021, at 23:59 EDT. All direct commercial and private passenger flights to Canada from India are subject to the NOTAM. Cargo-only operations, medical transfers or military flights are not included,” the release added.
The ban, however, does not apply to cargo operations, medical transfers, or military flights which are allowed to operate directly between the two countries.
More than 32 million people in India have been affected by the virus while the active cases fell to 386,351, the lowest in 140 days, the Union health ministry said on Wednesday (11).
