Ban on international commercial flights extended till March 31

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, February 27

In line with the extension of February Covid guidelines for the entire next month by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the civil aviation regulator DGCA has decided to continue with the ban on scheduled international commercial flights till March 31.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) made the announcement in this regard, as the earlier ban on scheduled international commercial flights was to end on February 28.

The DGCA in its order said, “In partial modification of circular dated June 26, 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 March 31, 2021.”

In the circular, the DGCA, however, said that dedicated cargo flights and flight services under the bilateral air bubble pacts with select countries would continue to operate.

India has bilateral air bubble agreement with 27 countries—Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Canada, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Iraq, Japan, Kenya, Kuwait, Maldives, Nepal, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania, Ukraine, the UAE, the UK, Uzbekistan and the US.

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The ban on the international commercial passenger flights has been in place since March 23, 2020, when the pandemic forced the country to go for a complete lockdown.