Omicron: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee asks Centre to ban flights from high-risk nations

The West Bengal government has decided to ban direct flights from the UK to Kolkata with effect January 3, after chief minister Mamata Banerjee said most of the cases of Omicron were being detected among people coming from that country.

Additional chief secretary BP Gopalika, who is also the home secretary, communicated the state's decision to civil aviation secretary Rajiv Bansal in a letter on Thursday.

Chief minister Banerjee has urged the central government to impose restrictions on international flights from high-risk countries, especially the UK. "We will take up the matter with the Ministry of Civil Aviation," she said earlier in the day.


The government's decision comes even as the state is reporting a spurt in Covid cases. On Wednesday, more than 1,089 people were tested positive, a health bulletin said.

In the letter to the civil aviation secretary, Gopalika said the suspension of "all direct flights from the United Kingdom to Kolkata" will remain in force till further orders.

There is only one direct flight from the UK to Kolkata, operated by Air India. Gopalika did not respond to repeated attempts by ET to contact him.

The West Bengal government also said that "flights from other at-risk countries will also not be allowed in the state and any NOC which has been issued stands withdrawn".

The state government said passengers coming from countries not categorised as "at-risk" will have to mandatorily undergo a Covid-19 test on arrival at their own cost.

Airlines will randomly select 10% of the passengers for an RT-PCR test and the balance 90% shall undergo rapid antigen test at the arrival airport.