India extends ban on scheduled international flights till Jan 31

New Delhi: India will keep scheduled international passenger flights suspended till January 31 amid Omicron variant threat, announced Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

In partial modification of circular dated 26-11-2021, the competent authority has decided to extend the suspension of Scheduled International commercial passenger services to/from India till 2359 hrs 1ST of 311t January, 2022," read the DGCA circular.

Earlier, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), on December 1, decided not to resume scheduled international flights from December 15, less than a week after announcing that it would restart the services amid the rising threat of the new Omicron variant across the globe.

The regulator issued a circular on Thursday, saying "The competent authority has decided to extend the suspension of scheduled international commercial passenger services to and from India till 2359 hours of January 31, 2022."

In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, the scheduled international passenger services have been suspended in India since March 23, 2020. However, special international flights have been operating under the Vande Bharat Mission since May 2020 and under bilateral "air bubble" arrangements with selected countries since July 2020.

India has formed air bubble pacts with around 32 countries including the US, the UK, the UAE, Kenya, Bhutan and France. Under an air bubble pact between two countries, special international flights can be operated by their airlines between their territories.

(With PTI inputs)

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