India extends ban on international flights till 31 May

NEW DELHI : The Indian government has extended the ban on international commercial flights till 31 May, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said in a circular on Friday. The ban on scheduled overseas flights was to end on 30 April after a 13-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 such as Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Canada, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Iraq, Japan, Kenya, Kuwait, the Maldives,