The civil aviation ministry has issued a notification suspending all commercial domestic flights indefinitely from Tuesday midnight - from 23:59 on March 24. This has been done in the wake of coronavirus Pandemic as the country goes to lockdown in several states to stop the spread of the coronavirus or COVID-19.
“The operations of domestic scheduled commercial airlines shall cease with effect from the midnight that is 23:59 hours IST (Indian Standard Time) on March 24, 2020,” the civil aviation ministry said.
The statement issued by the civil aviation ministry stated that all airlines have been asked to land their domestic passenger flights at their respective destinations by 11:59 PM on Tuesday. However, operations of domestic cargo flight will remain functional.
India has already banned international flights for a week from Sunday.
Earlier, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting the closure of domestic travel in order to tackle the spread of the coronavirus or COVID-19.
This order comes as Maharashtra on Monday announced a statewide curfew and sealed its district borders banning inter-district travel. On Sunday, the Maharashtra government had closed its state borders but the domestic air travel was still functional.
“I am compelled to announce a statewide curfew. People were not listening and we are compelled to impose the same. All district borders will be sealed and no inter-district transportation will be allowed. We will not allow it (coronavirus) to spread to districts which are unaffected,” said CM Uddhav Thackeray.
While addressing the media via web telecast, CM Uddhav Thackeray said that the essential services including grocery shops, medical stores will remain functional.
Earlier on Sunday, after speaking to CM Uddhav Thackeray, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray had also demanded the closure of domestic flights to tackle the spread of the deadly virus.
Maharashtra has become the worst-hit state in India with 89 positive cases for the coronavirus which has claimed two lives in the state. In India, the number of cases for coronavirus has increased to 415.
Also Read - Coronavirus Pandemic: Statewide Curfew In Maharashtra, No Inter-District Travel Allowed
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