Extend ban on UK flights till January-31: Kejriwal urges Centre
(Sourced from PTI)
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday urged the Centre to extend the ban on flights between India and the UK till January 31 in view of the extremely serious COVID-19 situation in the UK. India had suspended all passenger flights connecting the two countries from December 23 to January 7 as a new variant of the coronavirus emerged in the UK.
Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had said on Saturday that flights from India to the UK will resume from January 6, while services from the UK to India would resume from January 8. First flight from London would land at the Delhi airport on Friday.
Kejriwal wrote on Twitter, "The Centre has decided to lift the ban and start UK flights. In view of the extremely serious situation in the UK, I would urge the central government to extend the ban till January 31." The Chief Minister added, "UK's COVID-19 situation is very serious. Now, why lift the ban and expose our people to risk?"
Centre has decided to lift the ban and start UK flights.
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) January 7, 2021
In view of extremely serious COVID situation in UK, I wud urge central govt to extend the ban till 31 Jan
So far, 66 people, including those who recently returned from the UK and their contacts, have tested positive for coronavirus. Most of them have been kept in a separate isolation facility at the LNJP Hospital. Nine residents of Delhi, so far have been found infected with the new coronavirus variant.
According to the standard operating procedures issued by the Health Ministry, all passengers coming from the UK between January 8 and January 30 would be subjected to self-paid COVID-19 tests on arrival. "Moreover, each passenger arriving from the UK would have to bring his or her COVID-19 negative report from a test done 72 hours prior to the journey," it said.
Puri had earlier tweeted, "30 flights will operate every week. 15 each by Indian & UK carriers. This schedule is valid till 23 Jan 2021. Further frequency will be determined after review."
