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International flights suspension extended till Dec 31, select flights allowed

In view of the current growth trends of the coronavirus infections in the country, aviation safety regulating body, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) of India has further extended the restriction on international scheduled flights till 31st December 2020.

According to the DGCA, the suspension will hold true for other flights specifically allowed by the aviation body. Along with this, international all-cargo operations are also permitted to fly as usual without any opposition.

The official notice of the DGCA released as 30th November was nearing said, “In partial modification of circular dated 26.6.2020, 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 hours (IST) of December 31, 2020.”

With this, scheduled international commercial passenger flights travelling either from or to India have been put on hold for additional 30 days.

However, the circular mentioned that permission could be granted by the concerned authorities to certain flights on a “case-to-case basis” to function in chosen routes.

The suspension on the working of international flights was bound to be taken off on 30th November since its first placement of March 23rd in a bid to stop the further spread of the coronavirus that has captured thousands of lives in the country.

As the usual flights were restricted, India, in May, began its own set of international special flights that work to bring stranded citizens from different countries of the world back to their homeland. Selected countries too have tie-ups with India by which a bilateral “air bubble” arrangement has been formed since July.

Nevertheless, though restrictions were put on international flights since March 23rd, domestic flights were allowed to function again from May 25th, helping passengers release a sigh of relief through easy travel after a gap of over 2 months.

Under the bilateral “air bubble” arrangement, India has joint hands with around 22 countries including the US, UAE, UK, France, Canada, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Maldives, Netherlands, Kenya and Bhutan. Through the pact, citizens can travel between the territories.

The virus till now has infected nearly 9.4 million people and killed over 135k.