Ban on international commercial passenger flights extended till August 31, DGCA issued notification

New Delhi. The country’s aviation safety regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday extended the suspension of scheduled international commercial passenger flights till August 31, 2021. According to an official circular, this restriction will not apply to special flights approved by the Directorate General of International Freight Operations and Civil Aviation (DGCA).

DGCA said in the circular that in partial modification of the circular dated 26-6-2020, the competent authority has extended the validity of the circular issued regarding suspension of scheduled international commercial passenger services to/from India on 31 August 2021, 23:59 hrs IST).

However, international scheduled flights may be permitted by the competent authority on select routes.

India has canceled international commercial passenger flights with effect from March 23, 2020, in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

31.13 lakh domestic air passengers in June, 47% more than in May

About 31.13 lakh domestic passengers traveled by air in June, which is 47 percent higher than 21.15 lakh who traveled in May. According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), 57.25 lakh people traveled within the country by air in April. The decline in domestic air traffic in May was due to the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic that severely affected the country and its aviation sector.

As per the data shared by DGCA, IndiGo carried 17.02 lakh passengers in June, which was 54.7 per cent of the domestic market, SpiceJet carried a total of 2.81 lakh passengers, which is the total domestic Air passenger accounted for nine percent. Data shows that in June, Air India, GoFirst (formerly known as GoAir), Vistara and AirAsia India carried 5.14 lakh, 2.58 lakh, 2.25 lakh and 1.07 lakh passengers respectively. . The aviation sector has been hit hard due to the travel restrictions imposed in India and other countries in the wake of the pandemic.

India resumed domestic passenger flights on May 25 last year after a gap of two months due to the coronavirus pandemic. Indian airlines are allowed to operate a maximum of 65 per cent of their pre-pandemic domestic flights.