The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) of India announced on Friday that it has extended the ban on international commercial passenger flights till March 31, 2021. The ban on scheduled overseas flights was expected to end on 28 February after almost eleven months but has now been extended to March 31.
This restrictions will not apply to international all-cargo operations and flights specifically approved by the DGCA.
The restrictions on international flights in India were announced in March,2020 to check the transmission of the coronavirus. Over the months, the Central government, which is the highest executive authority in matters related to the pandemic, has reduced restrictions in most of the sectors of the economy but not the international flight operations.
However the Central government of India allowed domestic flight operations later last year. Last December, the Indian authorities had placed a ban on flights to and from the United Kingdom over the discovery of a highly contagious strain of the coronavirus in the European country. The ban was later revoked.