Both domestic & international flight services suspended till Apr 15: Puri

New Delhi: As India stays put under a 21-day lockdown to contain Coronavirus spread, Union Minister for Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri said on Thursday that passenger flight services on both domestic and international routes will remain suspended till April 15. He also added that a decision on whether to resume services or not will be taken on a "case-to-case" basis after the said date, depending on where they are coming from.

Puri wrote on Twitter, "The current Lockdown on both domestic & international passenger flights is till April 15. A decision to restart the flights after this period remains to be taken. If required, we will have to assess the situation on a case by case basis."

Only cargo flight services operating during Coronavirus lockdown

All passenger flights and train services have been suspended since March 24 in India to contain the spread of Coronavirus. Only cargo flights, medical evacuation flights, offshore helicopter operations and flights specially permitted by the aviation regulator DGCA can operate during this time period.

The backdrop

The news comes just a week after the DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) had extended the suspension of scheduled international flights until April 14 midnight. Flights from foreign countries to India had earlier been banned till March 31 to contain the spread of Coronavirus. However, as India went under a 21-day lockdown on March 24, suspension of all kinds of modes of transport had been extended.

An official order from DGCA had said, "In continuation of CIRCULARII DATED 19.03.2020 issued on the subject cited above, it has been decided that all scheduled international commercial passenger services shall remain closed till 1830 hrs GMT of April 14, 2020. However, this restriction will not apply to international all-cargo operations and flights specifically approved by DGCA."