New Delhi, July 31: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday  announced that all international commercial passenger flights will remain suspended till August 31, 2020. Scheduled international passenger flights were suspended in India on March 23 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The domestic flights in India resumed from May 25 after a gap of two months due to the coronavirus pandemic. With the limits on airfares, the government had asked the airlines to operate not more than 33 percent of their pre-COVID domestic flights. On June 26, the cap was increased to 45 percent. DGCA Asks AAI to Bar Charter Flights Coming From UAE From Landing in India.

The aviation sector has been significantly impacted due to the travel restrictions imposed in India and other countries in view of the pandemic. In India, the Aviation Ministry extended the upper and lower limits on domestic airfares till November 24. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had said there would be seven bands of ticket pricing with lower and upper fare limits based on flight duration. On May 21, the Ministry had placed these limits through seven bands, classified on the basis of flight duration, till August 24.  DGCA Issues Circular To Airlines Regarding Handling of Unruly Passengers On-board Aircrafts Amid COVID-19 Pandemic.

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In May, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had said that India will try to restart a good percentage of international passenger flights before August.  Puri said during the session, "I can't put a date on it (restarting international flights). But if somebody says can it be done by August or September? My response is why not earlier depending on what is the situation."

On June 20, Puri added saying that the government will start thinking on the resumption of scheduled international passenger flights in mid-July, when it expects the domestic air traffic to reach 50-55 per cent of the levels before the coronavirus.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 31, 2020 04:52 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).