Int'l flights resume in India after 2 years

Regular international flights resumed on Sunday (27 March) after a coronavirus pandemic-induced hiatus of approximately two years, with Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia calling it a "very important day". 

India had banned scheduled international flights on March 23, 2020. During the last two years, limited international passenger flights were operating between India and select countries under bilateral air bubble arrangements.

Battered by the pandemic, the airline industry is slowly coming back to normalcy and the resumption of normal overseas flights is expected to provide a fillip to the sector.

On March 8, the Civil Aviation Ministry announced that regular overseas flights would resume from March 27 amid a decline in coronavirus cases. It also relaxed various COVID-19 guidelines.

Talking to reporters in Gwalior on Sunday, Scindia said, "Today is a very important day...All regular international flights services resumed with full capacity from today. During the last two years of the coronavirus pandemic, the international flights were being operated under the air bubble arrangements."
-B