Travellers need to wait till 31st January, 2022 before international flight operations start operating to and from India. The extension on the suspension was brought in due to the anxieties caused by the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
As per the latest reports, a circular has been issued by the aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) which states that, “the competent authority has decided to extend the suspension of scheduled International commercial passenger services to/from India till 2359hrs of 31st January, 2022”.
What should travellers be aware of?
Though the ban has been extended, yet the international scheduled flights will operate on some selected routes. Special permissions on case to case basis will be granted. International all-cargo operations and flight specifically approved by DGCA will not fall under the restricted guidelines.
The "air bubble" agreements between India and 31 other countries, will remain effective as before. Even the special international flights operating under Vande Bharat Mission, since May 2020, will continue as it is.
Certain countries have been declared as "at risk" which includes the UK, South Africa, Brazil, Botswana, China, Ghana, Mauritius, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Hong Kong, and Israel. The travellers and passengers arriving from those countries have to undergo COVID-19 test mandatorily. They can go home after testing negative. But they need to observe 7 days quarantine and monitor their health till the 14th day of arrival.
The preventive measures adopted by India
The situations pertaining due to the Omicron variant have forced the Indian government to scrap the resumption of international flight operations. The DGCA has stated that the new dates of resumption will be announced later.
Earlier the decision was to resume the international flight operations phase-wise and with certain restrictions. But the decision had to be altered in light of the current situation.
At a review meeting on the preventive measures and preparedness for COVID-19, the Prime Minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi, had instructed the government officials to check possibilities of relaxing restrictions on international flight operations. Following the review, in a meeting headed by the Home secretary, it was decided that decisions on resumption of flights will be constantly reviewed depending on the global situation.
Earlier, flights were planned to resume with 75% capacity for "at risk" countries with air bubble agreement with India. And for those without an air bubble agreement, flights were planned to operate at 50% capacity. But for all other countries which do not come under the "at risk" category, flights had been allowed to operate at 100% capacity, much relief to the travellers.
On concluding thoughts
Travellers from India and abroad are awaiting improvements on the global scenario to resume their travel ventures. Past two years have curbed travels to a great extent. Restrictions were being eased or were planned to relax. But with the new situation created by Omicron, travel plans need to wait for sometime. Assuming situations to improve in a positive way, let's hope for the best.
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