India extends ban on international flights till October 31

The suspension on commercial international passenger flight services to or from India has been extended till October 31, according to an official statement. The government, however, said that international scheduled flights may be allowed on selected routes by the competent authority on case to case basis.

"In partial modification of circular dated 26-06-2020, the competent authority has further extended the validity of circular issued on the subject cited above regarding scheduled international commercial passenger services to/from India till 2359 hrs IST of 31st October, 2020," the Centre said in a notification.

These restrictions will not apply to international all-cargo operations and flights specifically approved by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

The government has suspended scheduled international and domestic flights in India since March 23. After two months of long hiatus, domestic flights resumed operations on May 25 but international flights have continued to remain suspended. However, air passengers can still travel abroad or can come to India via air bubble arrangement.

Earlier, Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had said that regular international flight services could be resumed when the domestic traffic would reach about 50-60 per cent and other countries would open up to international traffic without present conditionalities.

"We can start regular international flights when our domestic traffic reaches about 50-60 per cent and other countries open up to international traffic without present conditionalities," Puri had stated.

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