International Flights Latest News: Two days after extending the suspension of international flights to UK till January 31, Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Friday said that the flight operations with the UK will resume from January 8.

Taking to Twitter, the aviation minister further informed that the operations till January 23 will be restricted to 15 flights per week each for carriers of two countries to and from Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad only.

β€œIt has been decided that flights between India and UK will resume from 8th January, 2021. Operations till 23 Jan will be restricted to 15 flights per week each for carriers of two countries to and from Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad only,” Puri stated on Twitter.

The development comes after the DGCA on December 30 in a notification extended the coronavirus-induced suspension of scheduled international passenger flights till January 31.

However, it stated that the international scheduled flights may be allowed on selected routes by the competent authority on a case-to-case basis.’

The DGCA notification also stated that the suspension does not affect the operation of international all-cargo operations and flights specifically approved by it.

Notably, the scheduled international passenger services have been suspended in India since March 23 due to the coronavirus pandemic. But special international flights have been operating under the Vande Bharat Mission since May and under bilateral “air bubble” arrangements with selected countries since July.

India has formed air bubble pacts with 24 countries including the US, the UK, the UAE, Kenya, Bhutan and France. Under an air bubble pact between two countries, special international flights can be operated by their airlines between their territories.