The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Wednesday extended the suspension of scheduled international commercial passenger services to/from India till November 30 amid the coronavirus pandemic. Fresh concerns over international travel have been raised with another wave of infections in the USA and European countries.
In a circular, the DGCA said, “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 IST of 30th November 2020”.
The DGCA further stated that the restrictions shall not apply to all-cargo operations and flights specifically approved by DGCA. However, international scheduled flights may be allowed on selected routes by the competent authority on case to case basis, the circular added.
The scheduled international passenger services have been suspended in India since March 23 due to the pandemic. But special international flights have been operating under the Vande Bharat Mission since May and under the bilateral ‘air bubble’ with selected countries since July.
India has formed air bubble pacts with around 18 countries, including the US, the UK, the UAE, Kenya, Bhutan and France. Under an air bubble pact between two countries, special international flights can be operated by their airlines between their territories.
The second wave of the rise in the coronavirus infection in various European countries has further fuelled concerns that the industry might need to wait for a substantial amount of time before returning to the pre-Covid operations.
DGCA had previously extended the suspension of all scheduled international commercial passenger flights a number of times as the spread of coronavirus infection remains unabated. In its previous order, it had extended the suspension till October 31 and in its previous to previous order, it had extended the suspension of the flights till September.
While domestic flights resumed on May 25, the Government has kept a check on international operations.
Thursday, 29 October 2020 | PNS | New Delhi
