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New Delhi: Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) India on Thursday
(January 28) issued an order extending the
coronavirus-induced suspension of scheduled international passenger flights till
February 28.
"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 order also stated that the suspension does not affect the operation of international all-cargo operations and flights specifically approved by DGCA.
The released circular dated January 28 reads: "In partial modification of 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 service to /from India till 2359 hrs IST OF 28 February 2021. The restriction shall not apply to International all cargo-operations and flights specifically approved by DCGA.
The information was shared by the official Twitter handle of DGCA.
The released circular dated January 28 reads: "In partial modification of 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 service to /from India till 2359 hrs IST OF 28 February 2021. The restriction shall not apply to International all cargo-operations and flights specifically approved by DCGA.
However, under the Vande Bharat Mission special international flights have been operating since May and under bilateral "air bubble" arrangements with selected countries since July.
India has made air bubble agreements with about 24 nations, including the United States (US), the United Kingdom (UK), the UAE, Kenya, France, and Bhutan. Under the air bubble pact between two nations, their airlines can be operated by special airlines between their territories.
Earlier the government had extended the suspension of the International commercial passenger service till December 31 last year.
Earlier, Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had said that regular international air services can be resumed once the domestic traffic would reach around 50-60 per cent and other countries would open up to international traffic without current conditional ties.
Currently, the total number of coronavirus cases in India is 10,720,971 while the number of recoveries 10,394,352 and the number of deaths is 154,047.