COVID: India Extends Ban on International Commercial Flights

India's civil aviation regulator, the DGCA, on Wednesday extended the ban on scheduled international commercial flights till February 28, 2022.

At present, India suffers from a third Covid wave, which is said to be driven by the Omicron variant.

In a notification, the DGCA extended the ban on scheduled international commercial flights till February 28, 2022.

"This restriction shall not apply to international all-cargo operations and flights specifically approved by the DGCA. However, flights under Air Bubble agreement will not be affected," stated the notification.

Last month, the civil aviation regulator, had extended the ban on scheduled international commercial flights till January 31, 2022.

Earlier, India had announced plans to allow resumption of scheduled commercial international passenger services from December 15, 2021 with certain conditions.

However, on December 1, 2021, DGCA had said it is "closely monitoring" the situation emerging out of the Covid-19's Omicron variant and the final decision on the resumption of near normal international flight operations will be taken after consultation with stakeholders.

India had banned the operation of international commercial flights on March 23, 2020 to contain and control the spread of Covid-19.

Flight restrictions, however, were later eased under air bubble arrangement with certain countries.