The Central Government on Friday extended the ban on international commercial flights till 30 June, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said in a circular. The ban on scheduled overseas flights was to end on 31 May after a 14-month gap.
“In partial modification of circular dated 26-06-2020, the competent authority has further extended the validity of circular issued on the subject cited above regarding Scheduled International commercial passenger services to/from India till 2359 hrs 1ST of 30th June, 2021,” the DGCA circular read.
“However, international scheduled flights may be allowed on selected routes by the competent authority on a case-to-case basis,” the DGCA added.
Scheduled international passenger services have been suspended in India since March 23, 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. But special international flights have been operating under the Vande Bharat Mission since May and under bilateral “air bubble” arrangements with selected countries since July.
India currently has bilateral air bubble agreements with around 28 countries, which include — Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Canada, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Iraq, Japan, Kenya, Kuwait, the Maldives, Nepal, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania, Ukraine, the UAE, the UK, Uzbekistan and the US. Under an air bubble pact between two countries, special international flights can be operated by their airlines between their territories.
However, given the rise of cases during the second wave of Covid-19, many countries have banned flights from India under Air Bubble pact till situation improves.
Countries including Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Kuwait, New Zealand, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and UAE had earlier in April banned travel to and from India due to a surge in coronavirus infections as a result of the second Covid wave in the country.
