The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on September 30 extended the suspension of international commercial flights till October 31, 2020, in view of rising COVID-19 cases across the world.
"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 31st October 2020," the DGCA wrote on Twitter.
— DGCA (@DGCAIndia) September 30, 2020
However, the DGCA stated that the above restrictions will not apply to international all-cargo operations and flights specially approved by it. Also, the aviation regulator stated that international scheduled flights may be allowed on selected routes by the "competent authority" on case to case basis.
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On September 29, the Civil Aviation Ministry informed that 5,834 repatriation flights were operated by the Air India Group under the Vande Bharat Mission till September 27.
These flights carried over 7.6 lakh passengers. Out of 5,834 flights, 2,920 were inbound flights carrying 4.9 lakh passengers and 2,914 were outbound flights with 2.6 lakh fliers.
