Dhaka: India has extended its ban on scheduled international passenger flights till January 31 following the emerging threat of the new coronavirus variant Omicron, the country’s aviation regulator DGCA said on December 9.

In partial modification to the earlier order, it has been decided to extend the suspend the scheduled international commercial passenger flights to and from India till January 31, DGCA said in a statement.

However, the restrictions do not apply to cargo operations and flights under air bubble agreement. International scheduled flights may also be allowed on select routes on a case-to-case basis, DGCA further said.

The scheduled international flights were supposed to start from December 15, but fearing the nature of the Omicron variant, the Indian government has decided to postpone it.

India had suspended international flights from March 23, 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic. However, special international passenger flights have been operating since July last year under air bubble arrangements formed with approximately 32 countries including Bangladesh.