The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Wednesday has extended the suspension of all international commercial passenger flights until January 31. This comes in after 20 UK returnees tested positive for the new coronavirus strain.
However, these restrictions are not applicable on international air cargo operations and flights approved by DGCA, the aviation regulator in a press release. DGCA reserves the right to allow scheduled flights on select routes on a case-to-case basis, it said.
In March, India had suspended international lights from curbing the spread of COVID-19. While the operations resumed in May with stringent measures, the curbs were placed again in light of new strains.
Earlier, civil aviation minister announced the suspension of flights to and from the UK till January 7 in light of new infections. The new variant has been confirmed in countries like Denmark, Japan, Sweden, Spain, Germany, Canada, Switzerland, the US, Australia, and many others.
The authorities are continuously trying to track people who had traveled to the UK earlier. 20 cases of new strain have already been confirmed in India, while comprehensive contact tracing and genomic sequencing of other cases is underway.
First Published: IST