The Bengal government has informed the civil aviation ministry that direct flights from the UK to Kolkata would be suspended from January 3, citing the global and national rise in omicron infections.
Kolkata’s sole weekly direct flight from the UK — an Air India flight from London — arrives every Sunday. The next Sunday is January 2.
Bengal home secretary B.P. Gopalika’s letter to the Union ministry said that every international passenger, even those from countries listed by India as “non-risk” for Omicron, would be made to undergo a Covid test on arrival.
“…The state government has decided to temporarily and until further orders suspend all direct flights from United Kingdom to Kolkata with effect from 3rd January, 2022,” said the letter to Rajiv Bansal, civil aviation secretary.