The Indian embassy in Qatar said on Thursday that the air bubble agreement between Qatar and India has been extended till July 31 this year.
An announcement was made on Indian Embassy's official Twitter handle that flights have resumed under this arrangement.
"The Air Bubble arrangement between India and Qatar extended for July 2021. The flights have resumed under this arrangement. Thank civil aviation authorities and airlines on both sides for their continued cooperation in providing the requisite air connectivity," the Embassy tweeted.
The agreement had expired on June 30. India had stopped international flights after the spread of COVID-19 and operated flights to different countries on Air Bubble agreement.
Meanwhile, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has extended the ban on scheduled international flights till July 31. It said the ban on international commercial passenger flights, which was to end on June 30, will remain in place till July 31, 2021.
"In partial modification of circular dated 26-06-2020, the competent authority has further extended the validity of circular issued on the subject cited above regarding scheduled international commercial passenger services to/from India till 2359 hrs 1ST of 31st July, 2021," the DGCA circular said.
India currently has bilateral air bubble agreements with about 27 countries, which include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Canada, France, Germany, Iraq, Japan, Kenya, Nepal, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, the UAE, the UK, and the US.
However, dedicated cargo flights, flights under the bilateral air bubble pacts with select countries continue to operate.
