India Extends Ban On International Flights Till June 30

The Central Government extended the ban on international commercial flights till 30 June on Friday, said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation in a circular. After a 14-month hiatus, the ban on scheduled international flights was set to end on May 31.

However, Covid-related restrictions will not apply to international all-cargo operations and flights and those which are specially approved by the DGCA. The DGCA circular reads "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 1ST of 30th June, 2021". It also adds, "However, International Scheduled flights may be allowed on selected routes by the competent authority on cases to cases basis."

Due to the Covid-19 crisis, scheduled international passenger services have been suspended in India since March 23, 2020. However, special international flights have been operating under the Vande Bharat Mission since May of last year and under bilateral "air bubble" agreements with a few countries since July.

Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Canada, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Iraq, Japan, Kenya, Kuwait, the Maldives, Nepal, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania, Ukraine, the UAE, the UK, Uzbekistan, and the United States are among the countries with bilateral air bubble agreements.

Several nations have banned or imposed restrictions on flights from and to Indian states over the increase of Covid cases across the country. Countries like Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Kuwait, New Zealand, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and UAE in April banned travel to and from India.