A decision on restarting international flights might not entirely be India's call, given that this depends mostly on the destination country’s assessment of India being safe and consequent permissions that need to be issued to Indian carriers to fly to their airports.
New Delhi: Hours after the Home Ministry announced fresh guidelines pertaining to the countrywide lockdown to contain the coronavirus pandemic, India’s aviation regulator DGCA said the suspension of scheduled international commercial passenger flights will continue till midnight on June 30. “It is once again reiterated that foreign airlines shall be suitably informed about the opening of their operations to or from India in due course,” the circular issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said.
A number of countries within Europe have announced opening up of borders for intra-Europe travel June 15 onwards, which will enable air travel including for leisure purposes. Countries like Sweden, the UK, Ireland, The Netherlands, and Slovenia have opened borders to EU tourists, while those like Germany, Hungary, Romania, Finland have opened up partially. Consequently, airlines such as Lufthansa has announced 3,600 weekly flights in June. Furthermore, Lufthansa, as well as its group airlines SWISS and Eurowings are likely to operate 70 overseas flights, too.
Domestic passenger flight services resumed in the country from Monday after a hiatus of two months since the lockdown was announced on March 25, when all scheduled commercial passenger flights were suspended in India. International air travel shall remain suspended, the MHA order said, adding that a decision on when to resume it would be taken after making an assessment of the situation.
But a decision on the timing might not entirely be India’s call, given that this depends mostly on the destination country’s assessment of India being safe and consequent permissions that need to be issued to Indian carriers to fly to their airports. And that’s where India could be at the far end of the pecking order as the Covid-19 cases in India continue to be on an upswing, even as they’ve peaked or are coming down in other geographies. Also, since the post-COVID resumption pattern could hinge entirely on the power of discretion with countries and their aviation regulators.
A number of countries within Europe have announced opening up of borders for intra-Europe travel June 15 onwards, which will enable air travel including for leisure purposes. Countries like Sweden, the UK, Ireland, The Netherlands, and Slovenia have opened borders to EU tourists, while those like Germany, Hungary, Romania, Finland have opened up partially. Consequently, airlines such as Lufthansa has announced 3,600 weekly flights in June. Furthermore, Lufthansa, as well as its group airlines SWISS and Eurowings are likely to operate 70 overseas flights, too.
However, it may be pre-emptive on part of the airlines given that the European Union is yet to take a call on whether it will reopen its external borders on June 15. In Asia, Qatar Airways has said it plans to grow its network back to over 50 destinations before mid-June, including the resumption of services to Manila, Amman and Nairobi. The Doha-based airline has also said that by end of this month, it hopes to connect 80 destinations, including 23 in Europe, four in the Americas, 20 in the Middle East/Africa and 33 in Asia-Pacific.