The government had suspended flights between India and the United Kingdom on December 23.
New Delhi:
An Air India flight from the UK landed in Delhi with 246 passengers on board amid concerns about a rapidly spreading mutant strain of the coronavirus that emerged in Britain.
Flights from the UK resumed today after the government suspended services between India and the UK on December 23 due to the new and more contagious strain of the virus.
Flights from India to the UK were restarted on Wednesday despite the number of people testing positive for the new UK variant rising to 73.
According to the government, 30 flights will operate each week, 15 each by Indian and British operators. This will remain until January 23, said Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Puri.
Delhi airport has advised passengers to maintain an interval of at least 10 hours between their arrival from the UK and the connecting flight to their cities.
Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday urged the Center to extend the flight ban until January 31 due to the “extremely dire” COVID situation in the UK.
“The Center has decided to lift the ban and start flights in the UK. In view of the extremely dire situation in the UK, I would urge the central government to extend the ban until January 31,” Kejriwal tweeted.
“With great difficulty, people have managed to control the COVID situation. The COVID situation in the UK is very dire. Now why lift the ban and expose our people to risk?” said the prime minister.
In Delhi, 13 people tested positive for the new variant of the coronavirus.
The Civil Aviation Minister tweeted that a higher frequency of flights would be determined after the review.
All UK passengers arriving between January 8-30 will undergo self-pay COVID-19 testing upon arrival. Passengers must also bring negative COVID-19 reports from a test done 72 hours before their trip and quarantine them for 14 days, even if they test negative on arrival, according to the new government SOP.
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