New Covid strain: India suspends flights to UK until December 31

NEW DELHI: India decided on Monday to suspend all flights to and from the UK between December 23 and December 31 amid fears of a new, more infectious coronavirus variant found in the country. India has joined a growing list of countries such as Canada, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and Italy that have temporarily halted flights to the UK.
Passengers arriving from the UK before the suspension deadline will be subjected to mandatory Covid testing upon arrival at airports in India.
“Taking into account the prevailing situation in the UK, the Government of India has decided that all UK-origin flights to India will be temporarily suspended until December 31, 2020 (11.59 PM). This suspension will start from 11:59 pm on December 22, “said civil aviation, the ministry said on Twitter.

“As a precautionary measure, passengers arriving from the UK on all transit flights (flights that have taken off or flights that arrive in India before 11:59 PM on 22 December) must undergo an RT-PCR test mandatory upon arrival at the corresponding airports. “, added the ministry.
India has an air bubble agreement with the UK that allows flights to be operated by airlines on both sides to carry people who are eligible to do so under current government regulations. Four airlines, Air India, Vistara, Virgin Atlantic and British Airways, operate more than 40 weekly flights between India and the UK.
Technically, India has suspended the arrival of passengers from the United Kingdom. However, it remains to be seen if any airlines choose to operate flights from India with passengers and return empty from the UK to India.
“We are seeing mainly traffic to India on these flights and not so much in the UK bound sector. This is because the NRIs come over the holidays and also the Indian students in the UK who return to the safety of their homes here, ”said a senior airline official.
The airlines will offer their flexible booking change policy to all affected passengers.
British Airways currently operates 29 weekly flights between India and London Heathrow (LHR), one daily from Delhi and Mumbai; every one and five times a week from Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
Air India has 23 weekly flights on India-UK routes, with 22 to London Heathrow (LHR) and one to Birmingham. Fly to LHR from eight cities in India: Delhi (daily), Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Goa, Amritsar and Kochi. Meanwhile, Virgin Atlantic has eight weekly flights from LHR, four each to Delhi and Mumbai.
Vistara currently has a daily flight on the Delhi-LHR-Delhi routes. Starting January 16, 2021, it plans to start three times a week on the Mumbai-LHR-Mumbai route and then Delhi-London will change to four times a week.
SpiceJet had planned to launch flights to London from Delhi and Mumbai from December 4, but delayed the launch indefinitely.
The new variant of the Covid virus “out of control” is up to 70% more transmissible, although so far it is not believed to be more deadly or react differently to vaccines.