India: Regular international flights likely to restart from March 15

Regular international flights are likely to resume operations from March 15, after remaining suspended for nearly two years. As per the sources, authorities will follow standard operating procedures that are effective at Indian airports for foreign arrivals and departures.

Reportedly, the said decision on resuming regular international flights has almost been arrived at by the Civil Aviation Ministry following consultation with the Health Ministry with the decline in COVID cases. However, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation has not made any official announcement yet.The sources added that although regular international flights will likely resume from March 15, the guidelines for international arrivals, which have been in place from February 14, will still be followed at airports for the passengers of these flights.
As reported earlier, the said ban remains in effect till February 28, which had been put into effect since March 23, 2020, due to the COVID crises.

However, special passenger flights have been operating between India and around 40 countries under air bubble arrangements since July 2020.
The Health Ministry, on February 14, issued revised guidelines for international arrivals, and scrapped the mandatory seven-day home quarantine and the requirement for them to undergo an RT-PCR test on the eighth day. Also, the countries listed in the ‘at risk’ category have been removed.