New Delhi: Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday extended the suspension on scheduled international passenger flights till November 30 amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
“In partial modification of circular dated 26-06-2020, 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 hrs IST of 31st October, 2021. This restriction shall not apply to international all-cargo operations and flights specifically approved by DGCA,” the notice read.
India has air bubble arrangements with more than 25 countries, including the US, UK, Germany and Japan for operating international flights. The regulator had earlier said that international scheduled flights may be allowed on selected routes by the competent authority on case to case basis.
Civil Aviation Secretary Rajiv Bansal told the news agency PTI that the current frequencies available under the air bubble arrangements are adequate to meet the demand and there is not much demand for international routes as the visa regime is very restrictive.
He also noted that in certain sectors such as US and Canada, airlines have 30 to 40% load factors for mid-December 2021. “We can surely consider opening once demand nears pre-Covid levels.”
Bansal also said that if there is a need, then air bubble arrangements can be expanded.
