New COVID-19 version | The government has delayed the start of scheduled foreign flights; air bubbles are expected to persist

The decision to postpone the return of scheduled international aviation services comes just five days after the Ministry of Civil Aviation announced that they would resume on December 15 after a 20-month hiatus.

The government said on December 1 that it will postpone the resumption of scheduled commercial international aircraft services due to growing threats from the new Omicron variant of COVID-19.

The government will decide on a new date to resume planned foreign flights in “due course,” according to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

The situation is being “closely monitored in light of the development of a new COVID variation,” according to the aviation industry regulating authority.

Flights operating under the air bubble agreements, however, “shall continue,” according to the DGCA.

“Scheduled foreign flights were supposed to resume on December 15 as per our earlier announcement,” a DGCA official told Moneycontrol. “Now the government has chosen to revert back to the earlier system of flights operating under air bubble agreements.”