India extends ban on international flights till April 30

The Indian government has extended the ban on international commercial flights till 30 April, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said in a circular on Tuesday. The ban on scheduled overseas flights was to end on 31 March after a twelve-month gap.

Dedicated cargo flights, flights under the bilateral air bubble pacts with select countries will continue to operate, the civil aviation watchdog said.

A bilateral air bubble is a mechanism to resume flights between India and other nations with preconditions during the pandemic.

India currently has bilateral air bubble agreement with about 27 countries, which include countries like Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Canada, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Iraq, Japan, Kenya, Kuwait, Maldives, Nepal, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania, Ukraine, the UAE, the UK, Uzbekistan and the US.