India to resume scheduled international flights from March 27

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India said on Tuesday it will resume scheduled commercial flight operations to international destinations from March 27, restarting unrestricted travel after two years and for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

“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,” the ministry of civil aviation said in a statement.

India currently allows airlines to operate a limited number of flights to countries with which it has a bilateral arrangement under an ‘air bubble’ agreement. This has limited airlines’ operations and hurt their profitability.

(Reporting by Aditi Shah; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)