Omicron variant: International flights not to resume from Dec 15
By: Pallab Ghosh
Radiance News Service
Radiance News Service
Those waiting for international flights to resume as per earlier announcement are in for some bad news. On Wednesday, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) decided to postpone the resumption of scheduled international flights from December 15 citing the grave situation arising across the globe due to COVID variant 'Omicron'. The DGCA did not mention any specific date from when the international flights would be resumed. Many countries are mulling over closing down airports as a precautionary measure. Back home in India Government has made the RT-PCR test mandatory for all passengers immediately after arriving at the Delhi airport.
The DGCA issued a circular stating, “In view of the evolving global scenario with the emergence of new Variants of Concern, the situation is being watched closely in consultation with all stakeholders and an appropriate decision indicating the effective date of resumption of scheduled commercial international passenger services shall be notified in due course.”
The Civil Aviation Ministry earlier had said that all scheduled international flights to and from India would resume on December 15. Only special international passenger flights were operating since July last year, under air bubble arrangements with 28 other countries. On average flights had been suspended since March 2020 due to the COVID pandemic.
The Union Health Ministry had issued new guidelines for international arrivals, in the wake of the Omicron variant.