India extends restrictions on flights to UK till February 14 due to new variant of Covid-19

New Delhi, Jan 27: The Ministry of Civil aviation has further extended the ban on all flights between Indian and UK till February 14, the ministry declared so in an official statement. This was done to prevent the spread of the new strain of coronavirus going around in the UK.

Earlier this month, the Union Health Ministry stated that a passenger coming from the UK can board a flight to India only when he has a negative test report from a sample taken 72 hours prior to the journey.

Moreover, as per the rules, the passenger also has to take the RT-PCR test on arrival at the entry airport in India.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced on Friday that travellers coming from the UK to the national capital will have to undergo a seven-day institutional quarantine and a seven-day home quarantine even if they test negative for COVID-19 on arrival.

India had suspended all passenger flights between the UK and India from December 23 to January 7 as a new variant of coronavirus emerged in the UK.

Over 60 passenger flights per week were flying between India and the UK in December before the decision.