International passenger flights have been suspended in India again till November 30 in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation announced this and issued a circular, stating that international scheduled flights may be allowed on selected routes by the competent authority on a case-to-case basis.
The scheduled international passenger services have been suspended in India since March 23 amid the Coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile, special international flights have been operating since May under the Vande Bharat Mission as well as with the bilateral ‘air bubble’ arrangements since July with selected countries.
So far, India has managed to form air bubble pacts with around 18 countries, including the United Kingdom, United States, United Arab Emirates, Bhutan, Kenya, and France. As per this arrangement, special international flights are being operated by certain airlines between two territories.
The DGCA circular further mentioned that the suspension will not hamper operations of international all-cargo operations and flights approved by it.
India has been operating scheduled domestic passenger flights since May 25, which resumed after a gap of two months amid the crisis.
Earlier, under the new guidelines issued as per Unlock 5.0, the Union Home Ministry announced that international air travel will not start until October 31, except those that are being permitted by the Centre. All international flights to and from India were suspended on March 23, and the suspension was later extended till September 30 under Unlock 4.0. However, now the date has been pushed further.
