In a huge relief for aviation sector, Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia informed Rajya Sabha on Monday that the services of all international passenger flights will resume by March 27. International flights to operate with 100% capacity from this date.
The Minister made the important announcement during Question Hour as the Upper House assembled for its second part of the Budget Session after one month’s break. “All regular international flights will operate in 100 per cent capacity by March 27 as the coronavirus situation in India has improved now,” Scindia said.
The government had banned all international scheduled flights for a week starting March 23, 2020. The ban stretched for nearly two years in the midst of a raging pandemic. However, special international flights have been operating between India and about 35 other countries since July 2020 under the air bubble.
The move is expected to boost international tourism and will help soften airfares’ which have been soaring due to an increase in crude oil prices. While the government had earlier planned to resume international flights on March 15, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which necessitated relief flights to bring back stranded Indians in Ukraine, delayed the process.
Ministry of Civil Aviation recently also announced “after having recognised the increased vaccination coverage across the globe and in consultation with the stakeholders, the government of India has decided to resume scheduled commercial international passenger services to/from India from March 27”
Key things to know about India’s resumption of flights
– Capacity restrictions on international flights will be done away from 27 March as various stakeholders, including the civil aviation ministry and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), prepare the summer schedule for international flights for 2022.
– Govt’s decision to restart scheduled international flights after nearly two years will offer a major respite to homegrown carriers at a time when their operating costs have soared due to high oil prices.
The move will also likely offer relief to passengers from higher airfares with airlines adding more flights across their networks, partially offsetting some drawbacks facing the sector due to surging oil prices and restricted airspace owing to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
– The government had banned all international scheduled flights for a week starting March 23, 2020. The ban stretched for nearly two years in the midst of a raging pandemic.
– However, special international flights have been operating between India and about 35 other countries since July 2020 under the air bubble.
IndiGo (Interglobe Aviation Ltd), India’s largest domestic airline carrying nearly one in every two passengers, will seek to expand its presence in the international markets amid competition from Tata group-operated Air India, and Vistara, among other airlines.
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– IndiGo, which has a fleet of about 283 planes, hopes to fly mid-haul destinations to Eastern Europe, Western Europe, the Far East, and other parts of the world in the coming months. Among these are about 54 Airbus A321 XLR (extra-long range) aircraft capable of flying to destinations three and seven hours away. IndiGo has orders for 386 A321 XLR aircraft.
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