India extends international passenger flight ban till February 28 amid Omicron surge

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Wednesday extended the suspension on international flights from and to India till February 28 in view of rising coronavirus cases across the world.

In a circular on Wednesday, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) stated: "The competent authority has decided to extend the suspension of scheduled international commercial passenger services to/from India till 2359 hrs IST of February 28, 2022."

Flights under the air bubble arrangements will continue.


International flights were first suspended in March 2020 after a nationwide lockdown was imposed to tackle the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

India currently has a bilateral air bubble arrangement for the operation of special international passenger flights with 28 countries, including Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Canada, France, Germany, Iraq, Japan, the Maldives, Nigeria, Qatar, the UAE, the UK and the USA. The other countries with which India has such a pact are Bangladesh, Bhutan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Kuwait, Nepal, Netherlands, Oman, Russia, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.