- Thursday, April 25, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
INDIAN civil aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Wednesday (19) said the suspension of scheduled international flights in the country has been extended till February 28.
Scheduled international passenger flights have remained suspended in India since March 23, 2020, following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
However, special passenger flights have been in operation between India and approximately 40 countries since July 2020 under air-bubble arrangements formed with them.
In a circular on Wednesday, the DGCA said: “The competent authority has decided to extend the suspension of scheduled international commercial passenger services to/from India till 2359 hrs IST of February 28, 2022.”
The restriction, however, shall not apply to international all-cargo operations and flight specifically approved by the DGCA, the statement said.
Fights under air bubble arrangement will not be affected, it also noted.
The DGCA had on November 26 last year announced that India will resume scheduled international passenger flights from December 15.
But just a day later, prime minister Narendra Modi asked the country’s civil aviation ministry and the DGCA to review its decision in wake of the rising concerns over the Omicron variant of Covid-19.
On December 1, the DGCA revoked its November 26 decision without saying how long the suspension of scheduled international flights would continue.
