International scheduled commercial passenger flights will not be allowed to operate to and from India till July 31, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said on Friday. Earlier the ban was in place till July 15.

This decision comes even as more countries are starting international flights. These include Dutch airlines KLM, Emirates and Qatar Airways. Qatar is hoping that by mid-July its airlines’ network will expand to 430 weekly flights to around 65 international destinations.

The latest restrictions in India will not apply to international all-cargo and flights specifically approved by the DGCA, the order says.

The order leaves space for international airlines to operate under the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s proposal for establishing travel bubbles in various parts of the world including the Gulf, US, Canada and Europe.

Addressing a webinar on Thursday, Arvind Singh, Chairman, Airports Authority of India, said that India is looking at having bilateral agreements with Germany and France, both of which are EU members, to allow their carriers to operate to India.

The Civil Aviation Ministry had announced on June 23 that India is looking at the prospect of establishing individual bilateral bubbles between various countries including the UK, France, Germany and US.

Currently, the government is allowing Air India and private airlines to operate flights to various parts of the world through the Vande Bharat Scheme.

Addressing a recent press conference, Hardeep Puri, Minister of Civil Aviation, had said that private airlines had been allowed to operate around 750 flights under the scheme. In addition, some foreign airlines have also been allowed to operate flights from India on a case-to-case basis.

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