India has extended the ban on scheduled international passenger flight services to and from India till the end of February this year.
Earlier the ban was in place till the end of January. All scheduled international services to and from India have been suspended since March last year.
In a circular the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said on Thursday that the latest restriction will not apply to international all cargo operations and flights specifically approved by the DGCA.
The Circular further says, “however, international scheduled flights may be allowed on selected routes by the competent authority on a case to case basis.”
India has established air bubble arrangement with over a dozen nations including UK, US, France, Australia and Qatar under which international flights are allowed to carry select category of passengers to and from India.
Interestingly, Ronojoy Dutta, Chief Executive Officer, IndiGo, said on Thursday that the government is likely to allow international flights to select countries such as Sri Lanka and Saudi Arabia soon.
Opening up of some routes
He indicated that the opening up of some international routes, which are likely to be to countries which are in close geographical proximity to India is expected to happen in the next six-to-eight weeks.
Dutta said this during a call with analysts which had been organised after the Delhi based low cost airline declared its third quarter results on Thursday.