Coronavirus cases: India extends ban on flight services till March 1; Check details

New Delhi, Feb 27: The Indian government on Friday extended the ban on international commercial flights till 31 March, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said. The ban on scheduled overseas flights was to end on 28 February after an eleven-month gap.

Accoridng to reports, dedicated cargo flights and flights under the bilateral air bubble pacts with select countries will continue to operate.

A bilateral air bubble is a mechanism to resume flights between India and other nations with preconditions during the pandemic.

Presently, India has bilateral air bubble agreement with about 27 countries, which include countries like Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Canada, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Iraq, Japan, Kenya, Kuwait, Maldives, Nepal, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania, Ukraine, the UAE, the UK, Uzbekistan and the US.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) issued guidelines for international travellers coming to India under air bubble arrangement as mutant variants of COVID-19 spread.

According to the latest SOPs, for the next 14 days, all foreign travellers arriving from flights originating in the UK, Europe and the Middle East will have to reveal their travel history.