After 17 months of operation on the set cap on the flight capacity on the airline sector the government on Tuesday has permitted to restore the scheduled domestic air operations from October 18, without any capacity restriction.
However, the government said that airlines and airport operators must ensure that Covid-19 guidelinesare strictly followed and Covid-appropriate behaviour is strictly enforced during travel.
“After review of the current status of Scheduled Domestic Operations viz-a-viz passenger demand for air travelâ€, the ministry has been decided to “restore the scheduled domestic all operations with effect from 18-10-2021 without any capacity restriction,†the order stated.
The decision to ease the norms on flight capacity was taken after reviewing the current air travel. The central government had imposed the first restriction in May 2020, following the outbreak of COVID-19. The government’s capacity caps on the airline sector have been in place for nearly 17 months now. Currently, the government permitted domestic carriers to operate at 85 percent of their pre-pandemic capacities.