Covid-19 Mutation: India has temporarily halted all the fights originating from UK to India till December 31, in the wake of the new strain of Covid-19 variant spreading rapidly in UK. The nine-day long ban will come into effect from 11:59 pm on December 22, till 11:59 pm on December 31.

Also Read | UK Travel Ban: Countries Halt Travel From UK As New Coronavirus Variant Triggers Alarm | All You Need To Know

"Considering the prevailing situation in the UK, Indian government has decided that all flights originating from the UK to India shall be temporarily suspended till 11:59 pm, 31st December. This suspension to start with effect from 11.59 pm, 22nd December," Ministry of Civil Aviation stated.

Earlier in the day, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had expressed concerns over the new mutation of the coronavirus and had urged Centre to ban all flights from the country immediately. A similar request was made by Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.

Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan has said that the government is alert about the spread of the mutant coronavirus strain in UK and there is no need to panic.

Mandatory RT-PCR Test of passengers from UK in transit flights:

As a measure of abundant precaution, passengers arriving from UK in all  transit flights (flights that have taken off or flights which are reaching India before 22nd Dec at 23.59 hrs) should be subject to mandatory RT-PCR test on arrival at the airports concerned.

Other countries that have already banned flights from UK: 

Amid the strain of the new Covid-19 variant, several countries had grounded flights from the country. Austria, Belgium, Italy, Ireland, Germany, France and Netherlands are among the eearly respondents who took the decision of imposing ban on flights coming in from the UK .

(With inputs from Piyush Pandey)