International Flight Supension Extended; Selected Routes May Be Allowed

On Friday, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said it was extending the suspension of scheduled international passenger flights in the country till 31 July 2020 but added that some international scheduled services on selected routes may be permitted on a case to case basis.

Scheduled international passenger flights were suspended in India on 23 March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Modifying its 26 June circular that stated that scheduled international passenger flights will remain suspended till 15 July 2020, the regulator said on Friday it has decided to extend the deadline to 31 July 2020.

"However, international scheduled flights may be allowed on selected routes by the competent authority on a case to case basis," said DCGA.

India is in talks with the US, Canada and countries in the European and Gulf regions to establish "individual bilateral bubbles" which will allow airlines of each country in the pact to operate international flights, said Airports Authority of India chairperson Arvind Singh on Thursday.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MOCA) had on 23 June said India is considering establishing "individual bilateral bubbles" with the US, the UK, Germany and France.