The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Thursday extended the suspension of all scheduled international commercial passenger flights to December 31 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The DGCA, however, said in a circular that these restrictions will not be applicable to international cargo operations and flights approved by the DGCA.
"In partial modification of circular dated 26.6.2020, the competent authority has further extended the validity of circular issued on the subject cited above regarding scheduled international commercial passenger services to/from India till 2359 hours (IST) of December 31, 2020," the DGCA stated.
The DGCA further stated that international scheduled flights on selected routes may be allowed by competent authorities on case-to-case basis.
The DGCA had suspended scheduled international passenger flights since March 23 due to the coronavirus pandemic. On October 27, the DGCA had extended the suspension of scheduled international passenger flights till November 30.
Meanwhile, with 44,489 new infections, India's COVID-19 tally climbed to 92,66,705 on Thursday and the death toll mounted to 1,35,223 with 524 fresh fatalities, the Union Health Ministry stated.
The country's active caseload continued to remain below five lakh for the 16th consecutive day on Thursday. There are 4,52,344 active cases in the country, which comprises 4.88 per cent of the total caseload, as per the Union Health Ministry.
The total recoveries have increased to 86,79,138, with 36,367 new recoveries. The national recovery rate stands at 93.66 per cent while the fatality rate is at 1.46 per cent, the ministry added.
