Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, MoS, I/C, Civil Aviation has informed that all flights originating from U.K into India will be suspended temporarily from 22nd December to 31st December 2020. He stated that Government of India has decided to take all necessary precautions as a result of the situation arising out of the spread of a new strain of coronavirus in some countries.
Considering the emerging Covid-19 situation in UK, Government of India has decided that all flights to and from UKwill be suspended till 31st December 2020 (23.59 hours). This suspension will start w.e.f. 23.59 hours, 22nd December 2020. However, this restriction shall not apply to international all-cargo operations and flights specifically approved by DGCA.
Airlines operating flights to India from other countries shall not board any passenger travelling from UK to India and shall ensure that no passenger coming from UK is boarded in a flight for any destination in India either directly or indirectly.
As a measure of precaution, passengers arriving from UK in all transit flights (flights that have taken off or flights which are reaching India before 22nd December 2020 at 23.59 hrs) should be subject to mandatory RT-PCR test at the arrival port in India. The passengers found Covid-19 positive on arrival shall be quarantined as per guidelines issued by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and would bear the medical costs incurred.
Many Indian students who planned to travel back home to be with their friends and family in India over the Christmas and New Year period are among those caught up in Monday’s suspension of all flights to and from the UK as the world reacts to a new rapid-spreading strain of coronavirus detected in parts of England.
While many students would have made travel plans earlier in December after UK universities set up tests to leave the campus processes in place, there are some who are booked on flights in what is one of the busiest travel periods within the UK-India sector.
While tourist visas largely remain suspended, those in the UK for family reasons are also among those caught out by the cancellation.
“Significant concern is being observed from Indian students both inbound and outbound,” said Sanam Arora, Chair of the National Indian Students and Alumni Union UK (NISAU-UK), a representative group for Indian students in the UK.
