India to decide on resuming international flights when countries ease curbs

New Delhi, June 07: Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Sunday said that the international flight operations will start soon as there there is a huge demand for travel to and from India.

The minister also said that it depends on the foreign countries whether they are open to incoming flights from India or not.

"A decision to resume regular international operations will be taken as soon as countries ease restrictions on entry of foreign nationals. Destination countries have to be ready to allow incoming flights," Puri said on Twitter.

"Most countries have less than 10 per cent international operations because they are allowing entry only to their own citizens & have placed restrictions on foreign nationals," he added.

Scheduled international passenger flights continue to remain suspended in India. However, special repatriation flights are being operated by Air India and other airlines to countries across the world under the Vande Bharat Mission.

Countries like Japan and Singapore have put significant restrictions on entry of foreigners amid the coronavirus pandemic.

India resumed its domestic passenger flights on May 25 after a gap of two months due to the coronavirus-triggered lockdown.