India has decided to extend its suspension of scheduled international flights till January 31, the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) announced on Thursday.
Amid rising concerns over the coronavirus variant Omicron, the aviation regulator had decided on December 1 not to resume scheduled international flights from December 15, less than a week after announcing that it would restart the services.
The DGCA issued a circular on Thursday that said, “The competent authority has decided to extend the suspension of scheduled international commercial passenger services to and from India till 2359 hours of January 31, 2022.”
This suspension won’t apply to international all cargo operations and flights specifically approved by the DGCA, it added.
“International scheduled flights may be allowed on selected routes by the competent authority on a case to case basis,” the regulator added.
In another tweet, it clarified that all international flights under the existing bubble agreements shall continue to operate till January 31.
Scheduled international passenger services have been suspended in India since March 23, 2020, because of the coronavirus pandemic. But special international flights have been operating under the Vande Bharat Mission since May 2020 and under bilateral “air bubble” arrangements with selected countries since July 2020.
India has formed air bubble pacts with 32 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.
On the domestic front, air passenger traffic rose marginally in the week ended November 27 amid a revival in travel sentiment during the festival season.
Domestic air passenger traffic has seen significant growth since June, with the easing of lockdown restrictions following a steady decline in fresh Covid-19 cases, giving more people to confidence to undertake travel.
Singapore breather
Earlier on Thursday, the government has removed Singapore from its list of “at-risk” nations and travellers arriving from there won’t need to take additional measures on arrival, including post-arrival testing for Covid-19 especially the new Omicron variant.
Passengers arriving from “at no risk” countries can enjoy quarantine-free travel within India and will need to self-monitor their health for 14 days.
In addition, a random sample of 2 per cent of passengers travelling from Singapore will need to undergo RT-PCR testing on arrival at Indian airports, Singapore Airlines said in a statement.
