Govt extends restrictions on flights between India, UK till Feb 14

New Delhi: The Centre has extended temporary restrictions imposed on flights coming from the UK to India as new coronavirus strain continues to affect lives in the British country.

The Civil Aviation Ministry, in a letter to British Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airlines on Wednesday, said curbs on flights between India and the UK have been extended up to February 14.

This does not mean flights have been banned between both the countries but rather restrictions will be imposed and only a limited number of flights will operate.

Under the restricted arrangement, only 30 flights will operate out of Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru to the UK in one week.

All flights connecting the UK and India were suspended from December 23 to January 7 by the central government as a new variant of coronavirus emerged in that country.

On Wednesday alone, as many as 25,308 people tested positive for the virus in the UK, taking the total number of coronavirus cases to 37,15,054.

The new coronavirus strain in the UK has worsened the fight against coronavirus. In view of the rising number of cases, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said lockdown in England would last until March 8. He also announced new measures to stop the rising coronavirus tally in the country.