Centre Defers Resumption of International Flights from Dec 15

Resumption of commercial international flights from December 15 has been put on hold by the Centre as had been decided earlier. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Wednesday said that it is watching closely in the wake of the resumption of scheduled international passenger flights, after the new variant of COVID-19 'Omicron' sparked concerns.

The DGCA said that an appropriate decision indicating the effective date of resumption of scheduled commercial international passenger services shall be notified in due course.

The DGCA in a statement said, "In view of the evolving global scenario with the emergence of new variants of concern, the situation is being watched closely in consultation with all stakeholders."

The Centre on November 26 had said that commercial international passenger flights would resume on December 15. The decision was taken after consultation with the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of External Affairs, and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The notification from DGCA on Wednesday came as part of the periodically renewed notifications carrying forward the ban imposed on scheduled commercial international passenger flights by the Centre, since March 23, 2020. The last of those ban periods came to an end on Tuesday.

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