COVID-19 | Flight ban to stay till May 3

Deserted view of the departure section of T2 terminal of Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport during the Janata Curfew in Mumbai on March 22, 2020. (Source: THE HINDU)

All domestic and international flights will remain suspended until the midnight of May 3, according to the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

This means that international flights would have been barred for a total of 42 days and domestic flights for 40 days by May 3. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation banned international flights from March 23 and the ban for domestic flights came into effect two days later, i.e. March 25.

Also read | Lockdown extended till May 3, says PM Modi

The decision follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement on extension of the nationwide lockdown amid the COVID-19 threat.

However, there is no restriction on cargo flights. The government has taken the help of passenger airlines like Air India, IndiGo and SpiceJet, apart from BlueDart, for transportation of essential medical supplies within the country as well as to Shanghai, Hong Kong and Colombo.

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Several international airlines as well as Air India have been operating special chartered flights to help foreign citizens in India return to their countries.