Government may resume international flights by next month
A recent report from India Today had suggested that the Ministry of Civil Aviation was contemplating to resume international flight operations in July. Now, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has given more insight into the matter, explaining how the government is looking to approach the whole situation and restart international passenger flights. Here is what he said.
Restarting international flights depends on domestic growth
According to Puri, restarting international flights would depend on several factors. First of all, domestic flights, which were halted for over two months, would have to operate at sufficient capacity to recoup costs and make international flight operations viable. Currently, airlines are operating at a third of their capacity and they need to cross the 50-60% mark for enabling international operations.
Regional restrictions would have to be eased
To increase domestic flight operations and restart international flights, states would also have to ease some restrictions. Currently, many state governments, including Maharashtra, have curtailed flight operations as part of safety measures to contain the outbreak of COVID-19. However, sources say that the government is already holding backchannel talks with states to increase the number of inbound and outbound flights.
Finally, COVID-19 would have to be contained in metros
Finally, and most importantly, states would have to control COVID-19 cases for safe flight operations. Puri emphasizes that maximum coronavirus cases have been detected in metros that allow most of India's international flight operations. If the cases do not come under control in these cities, it might become difficult to resume international flights any time soon.
International operations unlikely to start at full capacity
As of now, there is no official word on the timeline of resuming international flights; the matter will be discussed in the third phase of the government's 'Unlock' plan. It must be noted that whenever the government restarts international flights, it will not be able to operate at full capacity initially, as many foreign countries would still be under lockdown to contain COVID-19.
