India’s Ban on Flying to Stay Until Virus No Longer a Danger
- A nationwide lockdown was recently extended until May 3
- Blow to airlines using advance ticket sales to fund expenses
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India won’t allow commercial flights to operate until it is confident that the coronavirus outbreak is under control, the aviation minister said, piling further pressure on the country’s cash-strapped airlines.
The ban will be lifted only when the government determines that the virus is no longer a threat, Hardeep Singh Puri wrote in a Twitter post. Airlines had been selling tickets in advance even though the government said there’d been no decision on allowing them to operate, Puri wrote in a series of tweets. Airlines will be given “sufficient notice and time” to resume flights, he said.