The ban on international commercial passenger flights has been extended till 30th November as per the latest reports. The ban has been extended by the Director-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). However, international all-cargo flights will operate that has been approved by the DGCA. According to the circular issued by DGCA, it has also been said that certain international scheduled flights may be allowed on selected routes by DGCA based on the circumstances.
Initially, the international passenger flights were suspended till October 31st. However, due to the ongoing pandemic, the ban has been extended. Suffice to say, with the current circumstances, the ban is expected to be extended even further.
Singapore will temporarily relax travel restrictions imposed for India
All international flights to India have been suspended since March 23, 2020. However, to bring the fellow Indians, stranded in other countries, back to their home soil, the Vande Bharat Mission was launched in July 2020. To this date, India has managed to be in the air-bubble pact with 28 countries. Under this pact, special international flights can operate between the two countries by their airlines.
To revive the economy, India had started granting visas to foreign tourists on October 15th. According to an announcement by the Union Ministry, foreign tourists were also allowed to visit India other than chartered flights from November 15th. Due to the pandemic, international tourism and aviation have been heavily affected. To revive the aviation sector to some extent, the Civil Aviation Ministry has approved the domestic flight operations in full capacity.
Even under the air-bubble pact, and the domestic flights, COVID protocols are being strictly adhered to and enforced. As per Civil Aviation Secretary Rajiv Bansal, air-bubble arrangements can be expanded according to the needs. Boosting of domestic aviation has shown some positive results, with a 5.45% increase in the last month.
