Travellers take note! DGCA’s new decision on scheduled international flights is now official. The aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday has announced that the suspension of scheduled international passenger flights in the country has been extended till July 31. A notice that was passed on June 26 which announced the suspension of scheduled international passenger flights till July 15 has been amended by DGCA and the deadline has been moved up by 15 more days. It is to note that international passenger flights in India have been suspended from March 23 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced a nationwide lockdown on the back of Coronavirus transmission.
While the suspension has been extended, DGCA circular mentioned that some international scheduled services that too on select routes may be allowed depending on the case. The aviation regulator also asked airlines to comply with the new statement strictly.
While flights are not operating internationally for more than three months now, Air India and other private domestic airlines did operate during the lockdown period and made some international trips. The permissions were given under the Vande Bharat Mission that the central government started on May 6 to bring thousands of Indians stranded in other countries amid Coronavirus outbreak.
On May 25, India gave permission to resume scheduled domestic passenger flights after a suspension of two months. Since then, domestic flights have been operating in India with complete social distancing norms.
Meanwhile, international flights operations have resumed in many countries including the US, China, Dubai, Australia, New Zealand and European countries as the COVID-19 outbreak has come under control in many places. Major airlines like Etihad Airways, Emirates, Lufthansa, and Qatar Airways among others have started short, medium and long haul flights across countries. However, it will take two-three months to completely utilise the capacity.
