International Flights: India Extends Suspension of Regular Passenger Flight Services Till Feb 28

Issuing a notification, the DGCA said that the suspension of flights will not affect the operation of international all-cargo operations and flights specifically approved by it.

International Flights Latest News: Taking preventive measures despite declining cases of coronavirus, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Thursday extended the suspension of scheduled international passenger flights till February 28. However, the DGCA allowed certain passenger flights on selected routes by the competent authority on a case-to-case basis.

Issuing a notification, the DGCA said that the suspension of flights does not affect the operation of international all-cargo operations and flights specifically approved by it.

“However, international scheduled flights may be allowed on selected routes by the competent authority on a case-to-case basis,” the Directorate General of Civil Aviation added.

The development comes at a time when the scheduled international passenger services have been suspended in India since March 23 due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, special international flights have been operating under the Vande Bharat Mission since May and under bilateral “air bubble” arrangements with selected countries since July.

Notably, India has formed air bubble agreements with over 24 countries including the US, the UK, the UAE, Kenya, Bhutan and France. Under this air bubble agreement between two countries, special international flights can be operated by their airlines between their territories.

According to reports, the Ministry of Civil Aviation will hold a meeting with the Home Ministry this week to fix a date as to when the regular international flight services will restart. However, now it is clear that the services will not start until February 28.

Apart from this, India on Wednesday extended the flight ban between India and UK to contain the spread of the new coronavirus strain. Regular flight services between the two countries had resumed in December last year with limited capacity but were restricted once more this month due to the new variant.