After a coronavirus pandemic-induced hiatus of over two years, regular international flights resumed from Sunday with airports and airlines getting ready for normal overseas operations. 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.
The Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in the national capital, which is also the country’s largest airport, expects international flight departures to witness a significant jump in the first week of April after the resumption of regular international operations. While Indian carriers are prepared for normal international services, various foreign airlines, including Emirates, Virgin Atlantic and LOT Polish have also announced plans about their services to and from India. As many as 60 airlines from 40 countries have been permitted to operate 1,783 frequencies to/from India during the summer schedule, according to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The summer schedule will be effective from 27 March till 29 October. A total of 1,466 international departures per week have been approved for six Indian carriers for the summer schedule. They will operate to 43 destinations in 27 countries, as per the DGCA. Scheduled international passenger flights have remained suspended since 23 March 2020 in the wake of the pandemic.
Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Sunday expressed happiness and prayed for the good health of passengers. “India would be back on being connected to the world as all international flights resume from today. The national flights were started with full capacity internally on 18 October. Now the international flights have been started with full capacity. I pray for the good health of our passengers,” said Scindia. The passengers were seen delighted at the news as numerous passengers queued at the Delhi airport. “We couldn’t go back earlier, now that the flights have started, I am pretty excited to meet my people. Also, there are all facilities here including the testing centers. I look forward to a safe journey,” said Sameer Agrawal, a passenger.
Parliamentary Standing Committee for Civil Aviation Chairman T.G. Venkatesh welcomed the decision to resume international flight operations from 27 March after two years of suspension. “There is good news for international travellers and the government that flights have started all over the world from today. This is a welcome decision by the Government of India and I congratulate Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia who took the right decision and fulfilled the dreams of Indian aviation and Prime Minister of India,” Venkatesh said. Before announcing regular international flight operations, Venkatesh had convened several meetings and held detailed discussions with relevant stakeholders including the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), DGCA, Bureau of Civil Aviation Was. Security (BCAS) and Airport Authority of India (AAI) with all airline operators regarding the decision to resume regular international flight operations. “Our committee on civil aviation has suggested many things to do before starting regular international flight services, we have given advice to the stakeholders to don’t compromise with safety and security of the passengers and including airlines crew, put HEPA filter to inside the aircraft and airports, all international passengers list to be shared with states Governments and monitoring their health condition minutely,” he said. Venkatesh’s committee has praised Prime Minister Modi’s decision to timely restrict international flight services to and from India during the peak of the pandemic in the country.