International flights to US, France set to resume from tomorrow on interim basis

Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri in a press briefing today said international flights may resume under bilateral air bubbles with other countries with certain conditions as many are imposing entry restrictions even now, including India in the wake of novel coronavirus pandemic.

"Till international civil aviation can reclaim its pre-COVID numbers, I think answer will lie through bilateral air bubbles, which will carry a possible number of people but under defined conditions as countries are still imposing entry restrictions including India," Puri said.

The aviation minister also hinted at resumption of international flights with at least three more countries amid this bilateral situation. The flights may resume from tomorrow.

"We are at a very advanced stage between with three countries and it is a work-in-progress. For example, Air France will be operating 28 flights between Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Paris from 18 July to 1 August while US will be flying 18 flights between July 17-31, but this is an interim one. We have request from German carriers to permit flights to India and we are processing it," Puri said.

A travel bubble or a bilateral air bubble is a travel corridor between two countries that wish to reopen their borders and re-establish connections with each other. This is an exclusive partnership considered between countries that have either largely eliminated the virus, or trust the testing numbers.

Earlier, the Ministry of Home Affairs said the international passenger flight services in the country will resume in a phased manner during 'Unlock 2.0'.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) earlier mentioned "international scheduled flights may be allowed on selected routes on a case-to-case basis."

On the other hand, India's Vande Bharat Mission has evacuated more than 6,80,000 Indians stranded abroad due to coronavirus pandemic till Wednesday, Puri said today. "A total of 6,87,467 passengers have been evacuated under the mission till 15 July, 23:59 hours," he said.

As on 13 July, Air India and Air India Express operated 1,103 flights, bringing back 2,08,000 Indians under the mission. "On many of these flights, we ferried back 85,289 passengers to various countries across the world," said Air India CMD Rajiv Bansal.

He said that over 80,000 people have also flown out of the country since the outbreak of the pandemic. This is the fourth phase of the mission. The first phase of the mission commenced on 7 May.

Moreover, on Tuesday, a total of 68,804 passengers travelled in domestic flights till 23:59 hours. There were a total of 1,633 flight movements in the country. Footfalls at airports was 1,36,099 and total number of flyers were 68,804. There have been 816 departures and 817 arrivals.

Puri also said, there might be a short extension on the airfare cap on domestic flights beyond 24 August due to muted demand.

All scheduled commercial passenger flights were suspended in India on March 25 after the Central government imposed a nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of Covid-19. Domestic flights in the country resumed operations from May 25.

Source: https://www.livemint.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Vistara Domestic Premium Economy vs. Economy – Is The Upgrade Worth It?

Economy on Vistara As one of only two  full-service carriers  in India, Vistara offers a high-quality economy product. On its A320, which used on most domestic routes, it offers 18-inch wide seats with a pitch of 29-30 inches. While this does sound standard, the well-padded seats and adjustable headrest make for a much more comfortable offering than its low-cost competitors. The seats also offer an acceptable 3″ recline. In terms of service, Vistara is one of the few airlines offering hot meals on domestic routes (minus short routes under an hour). All economy passengers, except those booked on Economy Lite fares, receive a meal along with hot or cold beverages. From personal experience, the meals are good and enough for domestic hops. For those traveling on Lite fares, only complimentary hot beverages are available. Vistara also has a small buy-on-board menu, which features packaged snacks and drinks, along with some hot instant meals. Originally, the airline served all passenger’s me
Read more

Why the Airbus A340 Has A Middle Landing Gear

Image
The  Airbus A340  was specially designed for long haul flying and had something not seen with other widebody aircraft flying today. It was a unique middle landing gear that allowed the plane to take off with heavier loads and carry more fuel for its four hungry engines. What is the middle landing gear? If you have ever looked carefully at a picture of an A340 (or if you are lucky, in real life), you might have noticed an extra landing gear on the belly in the middle of the plane. Here it is on a Virgin Atlantic  Airbus A340-600  to the rear of the aircraft. Looking at the bottom of an A340 you’ll see that there are already two other sets of landing gears under the wings, why would an aircraft need a third in the middle? Why some A340s have the middle landing gear Plain and simple, the extra landing gear allows the A340 aircraft to have a higher MTOW (maximum take-off weight). This means more passengers and cargo, plus more fuel to go a longer distance. Perfect for t
Read more

Preparing To Start Domestic Flight Operations Within A Week: Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Puri

The domestic flight operations are likely to resume within a week, says Union Civil Aviation Minister  Hardeep Singh Puri . The commercial flight operations remain suspended since March 24 after the announcement of nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus. In an interview with  Outlook ’s  Preetha Nair , the Union Minister also talks about the government’s massive plan to evacuate stranded Indians and the logistical challenges involved. He also says a decision on operating flights between green zones of the country will soon be taken. You have hinted that the commercial flight operations are set to begin after May 15 in a calibrated way. Can you elaborate? We are preparing to start domestic flight operations even before May 15. My effort will be to try and move in the direction of starting it very soon. I can’t put a date on it because when you are planning evacuation operations, you need the co-operation of the state governments. In order to open up domestic civil avia
Read more