The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said the ban on international commercial passenger flights, which was to end on June 30, will remain in place till July 31, 2021. “In partial modification of circular dated 26-06-2020, the authority has further extended the validity of circular issued on the subject cited above regarding Scheduled International commercial passenger services to/from India till 23:59 hrs 1ST of 31st July, 2021,” the DGCA circular said.

However, this restriction will not apply to international all-cargo operations flights that DGCA has approved. The authority also said that international scheduled flights might be allowed on selected routes by the competent authority on a case-to-case basis. Scheduled passenger international flights were first banned in March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. While domestic flights resumed in May, international travel remained suspended as Covid-19 cases remained at high levels.

The DGCA has since March 2020 extended the ban on international flights multiple times. India has initially started the Vande Bharat Mission that allowed Indian nationals to get back home. Later, air travel bubbles were introduced. However, international travel remains closed worldwide as new variants of Covid-19 continue to increase.