With the nation seeing a surge in coronavirus cases, it seems there are no plans for permitting international air travel. The restriction on civil air transportation is been under effect since the 25th of March.
Analyzing the current scenario the Indian aviation regulator DGCA deems it fit to circumscribe scheduled international flights till September 30. Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in a circular stated that overseas scheduled flights may be allowed on selected routes by the competent authority on a case-to-case basis.
The circular released however mentioned that the suspension does not affect the operation of international all-cargo operations and flights specifically approved by the DGCA. Apart from these, flights operating under Vande Bharat mission since May will initiate the 6th phase from the first day of September. The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday said the phase 6 of the Vande Bharat Mission to repatriate Indians stranded abroad due to the COVID-19 pandemic will begin on September 1 till the month of October. Also, flights working under bilateral air bubble arrangements with other countries that are in operation since July will continue to be in effect.
Anurag Srivastava, MEA Spokesperson speaking on the Vande Bharat mission commented, “During Phase 5 of Vande Bharat Mission, which will end on August 31, 900 international flights have been operated from around 22 countries reaching 23 airports across India. More than 12 lakh stranded Indians have been repatriated by different modes under mission till August 26.”
For the next phase, 112 flights have been arranged and are all set to fly. India has so far established air bubble arrangements with the US, UK, France, Germany, UAE, Qatar, and the Maldives. Meanwhile, negotiations with Italy, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Nigeria, Bahrain, Kenya, Israel, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, and Thailand are underway.
As this pandemic has hampered the socio-economic growth of the country but looking at the effective measures being implemented steadily, let’s hope India will be back on track soon!
