International flights to remain suspended until July 31 in India

NEW DELHI: Commercial international flights to and from India shall remain suspended until July 31, the country's civil aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) announced Friday.

"In partial modification of circular dated 26-06-2020, the competent authority has extended the validity of circular issued on the subject - Travel and Visa restrictions related to COVID-19 - regarding scheduled international commercial passenger services to and from India till 31, July 2020," the order issued by DGCA said.

"This restriction shall not apply to international, all cargo operations and flights, specifically approved by DGCA. However, international scheduled flights may be allowed on selected routes by the competent authority on case to case basis," it said.

Commercial flights were suspended when the country imposed complete nationwide lockdown late in March to contain the spread of COVID-19 outbreak.

Domestic flights resumed operations in India on May 25 after nearly two months of suspension.