The operations of domestic cargo flights will continue as normal, the ministry added.
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No domestic commercial flight will operate in India from Wednesday onward, the Ministry of Civil Aviation announced on Monday. All flights have been ordered to reach their destinations by 11.59 pm on Tuesday. The operations of domestic cargo flights will continue as normal, the ministry said. “The operations of domestic schedule commercial airlines shall cease operations with effective from the mid night 23.59 IST hours on 24/3/2020. Airlines have to plan operations so as to land at their destination before 2359 hours on 24/3/2020. The restrictions shall not apply to solely cargo carrying flights,” a release from the government stated. Following this, Indian airlines will also be suspending all domestic operations from March 25. This could further affect the aviation sector in the country, which has already been affected due to the passenger count dropping during the coronavirus pandemic, as well as countries shutting borders. Last week, multiple airlines, including Air India and IndiGo announced paycuts for employees following the dip in bookings. GoAir had announced that it terminated contracts of expat pilots amid curtailed operations due to the pandemic. Several airline carriers have had to cancel international flights and suspend operations too. They have also waived rescheduling and cancellation charges amidst the coronavirus pandemic. The government had already cancelled international flights into India from March 22 to March 29. Only international flights that carry cargo have been allowed to land in India. The government’s announcement on Monday came as the number of cases of coronavirus in India increased to 415. A lockdown has been imposed in 19 states and Union Territories. Some parts of 6 states and union territories have been kept under lockdown, health ministry officials said. Also read: Aviation industry in doldrums due to coronavirus: Will govt bailout sector?
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