India extends ban on int'l commercial flights till Nov 30
Darpan News Desk IANS, 29 Oct, 2021 11:07 AM
New Delhi, Oct 29 (IANS) To deal with the ongoing Covid pandemic, India's civil aviation regulator on Friday extended the ban on scheduled international commercial flights till November 30.
In the notification, the Directorate General of Central Aviation (DGCA), however, said: "This restriction shall not apply to international all-cargo operations and flights specifically approved by the DGCA."
It also said that scheduled international flights might be allowed on selected routes on a case to case basis.
The Central government had banned the operation of international flights on March 23 last year to contain and control the spread of Covid-19.
Flight restrictions, however, were later eased under air bubble arrangement with certain countries. At present, India has formed air bubble pacts with about 28 countries.
The country had been operating Vande Bharat flights to many countries over the last one year to evacuate stranded Indians.
Prominent hospitals in Gurugram have claimed that a huge dip in admission of foreign nationals have been witnessed due to the ongoing Covid pandemic, while the latest political tussle in Afghanistan will also have a huge impact on medical tourism in Gurugram.
India's priority in Afghanistan is safely getting back home its citizens in the country that has been over-run by the Taliban and it is discussing the matter with UN and US officials, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said here on Wednesday.
The BJP MLA from the Bispi Assembly constituency in Bihar's Madhubani district, Hari Bhushan Thakur Bachaul, made a controversial statement on Wednesday when he said that people having problems staying in India should go to Afghanistan and avail petrol and diesel at a lower price there.
Delhi's air quality was in the moderate category in certain places, while it was very poor at others. Air quality index (AQI) was 370 in Anand Vihar, while it was 150 in Mayur Vihar.
