According to the DGCA, the aviation authority, the suspension of scheduled international passenger flights triggered by the mounting instances of COVID-19 in the country has been prolonged till February 28. All planned international commercial passenger routes to and from India have been suspended until 23:59 on February 28, 2022.
This restriction, however, will not apply to international all-cargo operations or flights that have been specifically approved by the DGCA. Flights that are part of an air-bubble setup will also be unaffected.
The government had planned to begin scheduled foreign flights on December 15, however, due to the nature of the Omicron variant, the administration opted to postpone the plan. Various international flights, on the other hand, were operationalised under bilateral air bubble agreements that India signed with a number of countries to allow for unrestricted passenger mobility.
After the nationwide lockdown was established to combat the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, international flights were first banned in March 2020.
Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Canada, France, Germany, Iraq, Japan, the Maldives, Nigeria, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States are among the 28 countries with which India has a bilateral air bubble agreement for the operation of special international passenger flights.
Bangladesh, Bhutan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Kuwait, Nepal, Netherlands, Oman, Russia, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan are also among the nations with which India has signed a bilateral air bubble agreement.