New Delhi, January 28: The Centre on Thursday extended the ban on international flights till February 28, 2021, due to COVID-19 pandemic. However, the restrictions will not be applicable to international cargo operations approved by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The regulatory body also issued a circular in this regard.

The DGCA circulate stated, "In partial modification of circular dated 26.06-2020, the competent authority has further extended the validity of circular issued on the subject cited above regarding Scheduled international commercial passenger services to/from India till 2359 hrs IST of February 28 2021." Meanwhile, international schedules flights are allowed only on selected routes. These will be allowed only by competent authorities on case to case basis. India Has Flattened Its COVID-19 Graph With Pro-Active Testing, Successfully Contained Coronavirus Pandemic, Says Harsh Vardhan.

Circular by DGCA: 

International flights have been suspended in the country since March 24 after the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. Domestic flight services, however, resumed from May 25. At present, India has entered into "Air Bubble" agreements with several countries. This type of arrangement allows nationals of both countries to travel in either direction. Joe Biden to Reinstate COVID-19 Travel Restrictions Lifted by Donald Trump, to Impose Travel Ban on South Africa.

Notably, COVID-19 cases decreased in India in the past couple of weeks. India has flattened its COVID-19 graph as 146 districts across the country have no new cases since past seven days, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Thursday. On January, India's COVID-19 recovery rate has improved to about 97 percent. A total of 1,03,73,606 people have recovered so far in India.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 28, 2021 07:46 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).