• Thursday, March 28, 2024

Business

India to review decision on resuming international flights

An Indigo flight (Photo: SAM PANTHAKY/AFP via Getty Images)

By: Shubham Ghosh

THE Narendra Modi government on Sunday (28) decided to review the decision on resuming scheduled commercial international passenger services and the standard operating procedure (SOP) on testing and surveillance of inbound passengers, especially from nations that have been identified as ‘at risk’ in the wake of the emergence of ‘Omicron’, the new Covid-19 variant which has raised concern.

The decision was taken at an urgent meeting which was chaired by Indian home secretary Ajay Bhalla and attended by various stakeholders, an official spokesperson informed.

ALSO READ: Modi orders review over Omicron variant concerns

The meeting was held a day after Indian prime minister Narendra Modi did a high-level review on ‘Omicron’. The government had recently announced that scheduled international commercial flights would resume on December 15.

India to resume international flights from December 15

Sources in the Indian home ministry said at the meeting that the overall global situation in the wake of the Omicron virus was comprehensively reviewed and various preventive measures that are already in place and need to be further strengthened were discussed.

New Delhi will review the decision on the effective date of resumption of scheduled commercial international passenger services as per evolving global scenario, the spokesperson of the ministry said, Press Trust of India reported.

The new, potentially more contagious B.1.1.529 variant was first reported to the World Health Organisation (WHO) from South Africa on November 24 and has also been identified in countries like Botswana, Belgium, Hong Kong and Israel. It was on Friday (26) designated as a “Variant of Concern” by the WHO, which named it ‘Omicron’. A variant of concern is the WHO’s top category of Covid variants of concern.

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