Scheduled international flight have now been suspended till April 30, 2021. The Indian Government has extended suspension of international flights in the wake of surging COVID cases.
However, reports have it that the schedules flights under air bubble arrangements and Vande Bharat Mission will continue operating as usual. As of now, India has managed to form travel bubbles with 27 countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, France, Bhutan, United Arab Emirates, and Kenya. People will still be able to continue to fly to and from India under the air bubble pact, as per the government’s norms.
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Earlier, scheduled international flights were initially suspended on March 23, 2020, due to COVID pandemic. Since then, there has been no sign of resuming international travels, and not anytime soon, due to the Coronavirus crises.
Reportedly, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued an order extending the suspension of scheduled international commercial passenger services to/from India till 11.59 PM (India time) of April 30, 2021.
As per the order, “This restriction shall not apply to international all-cargo operations and flights specifically approved by DGCA.” The order also stated that international scheduled flights may be allowed on selected routes by the competent authority on case to case basis.
Till now, India has been operating Vande Bharat Mission flights to various places, international air travel has been happening on both air bubble arrangements and VBM categories.
