The Union Ministry of Civil Aviation on Tuesday (April 14) announced that all domestic and international flights will remain suspended in India till May 3. The Ministry made the announcement soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared in his address to the nation that the nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus COVID-19 is being extended for 19 more days.
Justifying the decision, Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Puri said that there were good reasons to extend the lockdown till May 3 and restrictions on both domestic and international flights could be lifted after that.
“There were good reasons for the Lockdown to be extended till 3rd May. We can consider lifting restrictions on both domestic & international flights thereafter. I understand the problems being faced by people who need to travel & request them to bear with us,” he tweeted.
Notably, all international flights in India were banned much before the lockdown and domestic flights were also after the imposition of lockdown and 650 aircraft have been stranded at different airports across the country since then.
