International flight operations to return to normalcy soon: Civil aviation secretary

Indian civil Aviation Secretary Rajiv Bansal on Wednesday said international flight operations are expected to return to normal soon, an ANI report said.

“We expect normalcy to return in international flight operations very soon,” he was quoted as saying by ANI.

The Director-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on October 29 had extended the suspension of scheduled international commercial passenger flights till November 30. The DGCA notice, however, stated that the restrictions would not apply to international all-cargo operations and flights specifically approved by DGCA.

The DGCA had also said that the international scheduled flights may be allowed on selected routes on a case-to-case basis.

Speaking about its loss-making carrier Air India, Rajiv Bansal said it is likely to be handed over to the Tata group by the end of the year. “We are making efforts to handover all operations of Air India by the end of December,”

The government in October issued a letter of intent (LoI) confirming the sale of its 100 per cent stake in Air India to Tata Group for Rs 18,000 crore, a senior official said.