India extends international commercial flights ban over COVID-19

NEW DELHI

India on Monday extended the international flight ban till further notice, despite a drop in COVID-19 cases across the country.

According to a statement by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the " ... competent authority has decided to extend the suspension of scheduled international commercial passenger services to/from India till further orders."

It, however, said that the restriction shall not apply to international all-cargo operations and flights specially approved by the aviation authority.

The statement also said flights under "existing bubble agreements will not be affected."

After the coronavirus cases started to decline in November last year, the government announced international flight operations would resume from Dec. 15. But, the Indian government held back its decision as the new variant of the virus was reported across the globe.

India has recently seen a decline in the new COVID-19 cases. On Monday, the Health Ministry said that some 8,000 new cases were registered in the country over the past day. The total case count stood at 42.9 million, while the total death toll topped 513,800, including 119 fresh deaths.

India's nationwide vaccination coverage has exceeded 1.77 billion, according to the ministry.