International flights suspension extended by DGCA till November 30

The suspension of all scheduled international commercial passenger flights has been extended till the end of November 2020 in the wake of rise in the number of Coronavirus cases in several countries, news agency ANI reported. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in a statement informed that all scheduled international commercial passenger flights flying to and from India will remain suspended till November 30. However, select international flights on limited routes will continue to run as per the specific approval granted by the DGCA. All international flights which have been scheduled and are operating under the air bubble established between the Indian government and the concerned foreign government will also continue to run without any hassles.

All international commercial flights have remained suspended since March when the country imposed complete lockdown to control the spread of Coronavirus. Instead of regular international commercial passenger flights, the government has established air bubbles with various other countries under which select airlines from both the countries are allowed to operate a limited number of flights to cater to the emergency needs of the passengers.

With the airlines operating far below their operating capacity on limited routes, the losses of the aviation industry have been mounting. The second wave of the rise in the Coronavirus infection in various European countries has further fuelled concerns that the industry might need to wait for a substantial amount of time before returning to the pre-Covid operations.

DGCA had previously extended the suspension of all scheduled international commercial passenger flights a number of times as the spread of Coronavirus infection remains unabated. In its previous order, it had extended the suspension till October 31 and in its previous to previous order, it had extended the suspension of the flights till September.