India's Civil Aviation Minister on Tuesday said the country was likely to extend a ban on flights from Britain that it has imposed in a bid to contain a new strain of the coronavirus. “I foresee a slight extension of the temporary suspension. I don't expect that extension to be a long or indefinite extension,” Hardeep Singh Puri told reporters.
Ministry of Civil Aviation, last week, announced to temporarily suspend all flights originating from UK to India starting December 23. The flight ban will be in place till December 31, 11.59 PM. An official statement by Ministry of Civil Aviation said – “Considering the prevailing situation in the UK, Indian govt has decided that all flights originating from the UK to India shall be temporarily suspended till 11:59 pm, 31st December. This suspension to start w.e.f. 11.59 pm, 22nd December: Ministry of Civil Aviation.”
In an exlusive interview given to CNN-News18, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that all passengers coming to India from UK will be subject to RT-PCR tests and will have to undergo mandatory 7 days quarantine. He further stated that the temporary suspension will be up for review at a later date.
Earlier yesterday, Pakistan also extended the ban on flights from the UK for another week over fears of a new variant of the coronavirus which is reportedly spreading at a much faster rate. The extension was announced by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) after the government decided that the threat level regarding the virus from the UK had not reduced.
A communique sent by the CAA said: “The restrictions will remain in place till January 4, 2021, 2359 hours.” The restrictions may be reviewed for further extension later. Initially the ban was imposed last week at the recommendation of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) and it was to stay until the midnight of December 29.
With Inputs from Agencies
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