In a fresh circular, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Thursday announced that the suspension on scheduled international commercial flights has been extended till 31 January.

In a circular, DGCA stated, "In partial modification of circular dated 26-11-2021, the competent authority has decided to extend the suspension of Scheduled International commercial passenger services to/from India till 2359 hrs IST of 31st January, 2022."

However, this restriction shall not apply to international all-cargo operations and flight specifically approved by DGCA, the statement added.

The announcement comes amid the rise in newly-discovered Covid-19 strain named Omicron cases across the world and India's tightened norms for international passengers.

In November, the Aviation Ministry had announced that it was in line to resume regular international flights from December 15.

At that time, the Ministry of Civil Aviation had stated, "The matter of resumption of scheduled commercial international passenger services to and from India has been examined in consultation with the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and it has been decided that scheduled commercial international passenger services to and from India may be resumed from December 15, 2021."