New Delhi: The Director-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) of India has further extended the ban on scheduled international flights to and from India till February 28. The decision has been taken in view of the third covid-19 wave that has grappled the world.
However, the DGCA clarified that the ban does not apply to the countries that have signed a bilateral bio bubble agreement with India. The ban on scheduled commercial flights is in place from March 2020. It was imposed on March 23, 2020, a day before the nationwide lockdown was imposed in the country to curb the spread of covid-19.
“The authority has decided to extend the suspension of Scheduled International commercial passenger services to/from India till 2359 hrs IST of 28th February 2022,” reads an official letter of Civil Aviation.
The statement issued by the DGCA also said, “In a circular, the DGCA stated: "The competent authority has decided to extend the suspension of scheduled international commercial passenger services to/from India till 2359 hrs IST of February 28, 2022.”
However, the restrictions do not apply to the cargo shipments, clarified DGCA. “This restriction shall not apply to international all-cargo operations and flights specifically approved by the DGCA,” the notification said.
India has a bilateral air travel agreement with the US, the UK, the UAE, Afghanistan, Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Canada, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Iraq, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Maldives, Mauritius, Nepal, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Russia, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Tanzania, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.