New Delhi: India will resume scheduled international flights from December 15, the Civil Aviation Ministry said Friday evening, noting the “matter has been reviewed and the competent authority” had decided to resume such flights (to and from India).
“Resumption of scheduled commercial international passenger services, to and from India, has been examined in consultation with Ministry of Home Affairs, External Affairs and Health, and it has been decided… may be resumed from December 15,” the ministry said.
Scheduled international flights – except repatriation services and flights carrying essential goods – were suspended in March last year after the Covid lockdown.Restrictions were eased gradually – as the caseload dropped and vaccination coverage increased, with ‘air bubble’ arrangements with other countries. India currently has 28 such deals.
Under such a deal, international passenger flights can be operated by member countries’ carriers into each other’s territories, subject to certain conditions.The decision to re-open scheduled international passenger traffic comes amid concern over a new variant of the coronavirus – the B.1.1.529 strain first detected in South Africa, and since detected in Botswana, Israel and Hong Kong.
It is unclear, at this time, if any of the countries reporting this new strain figure on the Indian government’s ‘no-fly’ list.The World Health Organization (WHO) has cautioned countries against immediately imposing travel restrictions, calling for a “risk-based and scientific approach”. The new variant has been red-flagged for an alarmingly high number of mutations (50), including more than 30 on the spike protein, which is what the virus uses to unlock access to our body’s cells.Researchers are still trying to confirm whether this makes it more transmissible or lethal than earlier variants.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has called for calm in responding to this new variant, underlining the fact that studies need to be carried out to understand the new mutations. Last week Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said the government was evaluating the process of normalising international flight operations.He said that while the government was keen for things to return to normal, it would take measures to guard against a renewed wave of coronavirus infections, particularly since several major European nations have recorded frightening surge in daily new cases.Domestic flights – similarly restricted during the lockdown – were allowed at full capacity from last month, after also having only been allowed a certain number of flights in each sector initially.
The government resumed domestic flight ops in May last year after a two-month break..
