No Relief For Passengers As Centre Reiterates Stand On Air Travel

In a series of tweets, Hardeep Singh Puri said, “I want to once again say that flight restrictions that are in place as a result of India's fight against COVID19 will be lifted once we are confident that spread of the virus has been controlled & it poses no danger to our country and people.”

Representational Picture (AFP)

New Delhi, April 20: In order to quell rumours around the resumption of airline travel, civil aviation minister, Hardeep Singh Puri reiterated on Monday that flight restrictions continue till the lockdown and no decision has been taken on the resumption of both domestic and international flights post the lockdown. In reaction to some airlines which starting booking services, the Centre has issued directives on Sunday restraining them from doing so. In a series of tweets, the minister said, “I want to once again say that flight restrictions that are in place as a result of India's fight against COVID19 will be lifted once we are confident that spread of the virus has been controlled & it poses no danger to our country and people.” Besides, the civil aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has also asked all airlines to refrain from booking tickets.

The minister mentioned the past tweets to clarify the government’s stand on the issue. One of the tweets on 2nd April, he said "A decision to restart flights after this period remains to be taken" & reiterated this on 5th. On14th when Lockdown extended, I said "we can consider lifting restrictions" after the lockdown. He also said that the airlines will be given sufficient notice and time for restarting operations. Noting that it had not given any direction to airlines to book tickets for flights starting from May 4, the DGCA directed airlines not to book tickets post for the post lockdown period. Last week, the DGCA said domestic and international flights will remain suspended during the period after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement of the extension of the nationwide lockdown till May 3, The DGCA had earlier stopped operations of passenger flights on all domestic routes from March 25 to March 31 and then extended it to April 14.