As Covid-19 cases ebb worldwide, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) on Tuesday announced that international scheduled commercial flights to and from India will resume on March 27, after a 25-month ban.
Previously, the Government had announced that India would resume international flights on December 15, 2021, but the order was taken back just a day later after Prime Minister Narendra Modi sought a review of the decision in the wake of the Omicron variant.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on February 28 had extended the ban on scheduled international passenger flights to and from India till further orders.
Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Tuesday, “After deliberation with stakeholders and keeping in view the decline in the COVID-19 caseload, we have decided to resume international travel from March 27 onwards.” Air bubble arrangements will also stand revoked thereafter, he said.
“With this step, I am confident the sector will reach new heights,” Scindia said. The move will allow airlines to operate at their capacity as per the original bilateral agreements on foreign routes ahead of the summer travel season.
India has been operating flights under air bubble arrangements with Afghanistan, Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Canada, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Iraq, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya,...
...Kuwait, Maldives, Mauritius, Nepal, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Russia, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Tanzania, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, US and Uzbekistan since July 2021. Limited capacity under air bubble flights had led to higher airfares.
In a statement, the MoCA said that international operations from March 27 will be subject to strict adherence to Union Health Ministry guidelines that were issued on February 10.
“After having recognised the increased vaccination coverage across the globe and in consultation with the stakeholders, the Government of India has decided to resume scheduled commercial international passenger services to/from India from March 27, the start of Summer Schedule 2022. The suspension of scheduled commercial international passenger services to/from India, thus, stands extended only up to 2359 hrs IST on 26.03.2022 and air bubble arrangements shall accordingly be extended to this extent only,” it said.
The international operations shall be subject to strict adherence to the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare guidelines for international travel dated 10.02.2022 and as amended from time to time.
India is one of those countries which still overflies the Russian airspace something that a majority of European countries don’t as of now. This will also help airlines in India to take an hour less as compared to airlines of US, British, and European countries.