International flights to and from India will remain suspended till December 31 on the backdrop of COVID-19 outbreak. The flights will fly only on select routes on a case-to-case basis, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said on Thursday. The restrictions, however, are not applicable to international all-cargo operations and specially approved flights by the DGCA.

DGCA in a notification said, “In partial modification of circular dated 26-06-2020, the competent authority has further extended the validity of circular issued on the subject cited above regarding Scheduled International commercial passenger services to/from India till 2359 hrs 1ST of 31St December, 2020.”

India has constructed air bubble pacts with around 18 nations, including, the UK, the UAE, the USA, Kenya, Bhutan and France. Under an air bubble pact between two nations, special international flights can be functioned by their airlines between their territories.

Meanwhile, all international commercial flights have remained suspended from March 25 when the central government imposed a nationwide lockdown to curtail the spread of COVID-19 outbreak. However, Indian airlines have been allowed to operate special international flights under the Vande Bharat Mission since May. Scheduled domestic passenger flights recommenced in India on May 25 after a gap of two months amid the COVID-19 situation.