Scheduled international flights to and from India will be resumed from December 15, the Civil Aviation Ministry said on Friday, November 26. Scheduled international flights have been suspended in India since March 23 last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, special international passenger flights have been operating since July last year under air bubble arrangements formed with approximately 28 countries.
In an order, the Civil Aviation Ministry stated, "The matter of resumption of scheduled commercial international passenger services to and from India has been examined in consultation with the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and it has been decided that scheduled commercial international passenger services to and from India may be resumed from December 15, 2021."
The move came even as a slew of nations moved to stop air travel from southern Africa on Friday, and stocks plunged in Asia and Europe in reaction to news of a new, potentially more transmissible COVID-19 variant. “The last thing we need is to bring in a new variant that will cause even more problems,” said German Health Minister Jens Spahn, amid a massive spike in cases in the 27-nation European Union. There are fears that the new variant could be even more contagious than the current predominant one and could bypass the effectiveness of the vaccination campaigns.
Early indications show this variant may be more transmissible than the delta variant and current vaccines may be less effective against it, British Health Secretary Sajid Javid told lawmakers. "We must move quickly and at the earliest possible moment, he said.
Israel, one of the world's most vaccinated countries, announced on Friday that it has detected the country's first case of the new variant in a traveler who returned from Malawi. The traveler and two other suspected cases have been placed in isolation. It said all three are vaccinated but that it is currently looking into their exact vaccination status.