International flight suspension set to stay till July 15

NEW DELHI: The suspension of international passenger flights to and from India has been extended till July 15, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said on Friday. However, “international scheduled flights may be allowed on selected routes by the competent authority on a case-to-case basis”, it said.

NEW DELHI: The suspension of international commercial flights to and from India was extended from June 30 till July 15, an order by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said on Friday. The restrictions will not apply to international cargo operations and flights approved by DGCA, the order said.

The regulator, however, said that “international scheduled flights may be allowed on select routes by competent authority on a case-to-case basis”.

This comes a week after Union civil aviation minister Hardeep Puri said the decision to resume of international passenger flights will depend on demand and other countries being open to receiving flights.

“We can start regular international flights when our domestic traffic reaches about 50-60% and other countries open up to international traffic without present conditionalities,” Puri said on June 20. India may resume international flights on routes with higher demand first, he said.

India suspended international passenger flights on March 22 before the first phase of the nationwide lockdown was imposed on March 25.

The government is currently running the third phase of its repatriation programme, Vande Bharat Mission, to evacuate Indians stranded abroad.

For Phase 3, private domestic airlines were mandated to operate 750 international flights along with 300 Air India flights that will be added soon, according to the aviation ministry.

The government is also planning to allow air carriers from other countries to allow transportation of passengers like Air India under the Vande Bharat Mission. India is also planning to operate bilateral agreements with limited flights operating between two countries with countries including US, UK, Germany and France.

“As we contemplate further opening up in response to demands, we are looking at the prospect of establishing individual bilateral bubbles, India-US,

India-France, India-Germany, India-UK. These are all destinations where demand for travel has not diminished. Final decisions pursuant to negotiations are expected to be taken soon,” the ministry said on Tuesday.

Suspension of international flights due to Covid-19 hurt the aviation industry badly. The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) estimates that travel and tourism accounts for 10.3% of global GDP and 300 million jobs globally.

According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) the financial outlook for the global air transport industry shows that airlines are expected to lose $84.3 billion in 2020 for a net profit margin of -20.1%.