India extends suspension of international flight operations till July 31
- 03 Jul 2020
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued a circular on Friday extending the suspension on scheduled commercial international flight operations to and from India till July 31.
The development comes exactly a week after the suspension on oversees air services was extended till July 15.
The regulator said the validity of the earlier circular has been extended till 11:59pm of July 31.
"However, international scheduled flights may be allowed on selected routes by the competent authority on case to case basis," the circular read.
Last month, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that re-commencement of international flight services will depend on factors like 'border acceptance' norms in the arriving country and the traffic demand.
That time, he hinted at the prospects of bilateral bubble arrangements, which will allow some international operations between countries.
At present, healthy demand for evacuation flights have been witnessed in the North America-India sector.
Passenger air services were suspended on March 25 due to the nationwide lockdown to check the spread of COVID-19, although domestic air services has resumed in a phased manner from May 25.
Currently, airlines are only allowed to deploy 45 per cent of their total capacity.
Taj Mahal to reopen from July 6 for visitors
Meanwhile, the Tourism industry captains in Agra have welcomed the decision of the Union Culture Ministry to reopen the Taj Mahal and other ASI protected monuments for visitors from July 6. While the industry has started making preparations, a few doubting Thomases and some health activists here wondered if "it was a little early and premature as the COVID-19 infection spread has not yet been effectively checked."
Union Culture Minister Prahlad Singh tweeted on Thursday that ASI monuments could now be opened taking necessary precautions and full safety measures.
Indo-Asian News Service