Regular international flights are likely to resume from March 15 and will follow the standard operating procedures effective at Indian airports for foreign arrivals and departure, reported government sources on Monday.
This is due to the consistent decline in Covid-19 cases, a decision on resuming scheduled international flights has almost been arrived at by the Civil Aviation Ministry following consultation with the Health Ministry, they said.
However, no official announcement has been made by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation so far.
The ban on scheduled international passenger flights in India is in effect till February 28. Such flights have been suspended in India since March 23, 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic. Special passenger flights have been operating between India and around 40 countries since July 2020 under specific air bubble arrangements.
The Health Ministry has issued revised guidelines for international arrivals, with effect from February 14, doing away with the mandatory seven-day home quarantine and the need for them to undertake an RT-PCR test on the eighth day. Apart from uploading a negative RT-PCR report, taken 72 hours before the journey, there is an option to upload certificates of the completion of the full primary Covid vaccination schedule provided from countries on a reciprocal basis. Furthermore, the category of countries ‘at-risk’ and other countries has been removed.
