India-UK flight services halted amid new COVID strain concerns to resume from January 8

Last month, these services were suspended to stop the spread of a mutant Covid-19 strain which was recently discovered in the UK.

Image used for representational purposes. (Photo | Debadatta Mallick, EPS)

NEW DELHI: Flight services between India and UK will resume from January 8, 2021, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Friday.

Last month, these services were suspended to stop the spread of a mutant Covid-19 strain which was recently discovered in the UK.

In a tweet, the minister said: "It has been decided that flights between India & UK will resume from 8 Jan 2021."

It has been decided that flights between India & UK will resume from 8th January, 2021. Operations till 23 Jan will be restricted to 15 flights per week each for carriers of two countries to & from Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru & Hyderabad only: Union Civil Aviation Minister pic.twitter.com/IsBiCFhvg9

— ANI (@ANI) January 1, 2021

Only 30 flights per week will operate between India and the UK when services resume from January 8, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri announced on Friday and said this arrangement will continue till January 23.

Indian and UK carriers will each be operating 15 flights per week during the aforementioned period to and from Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad only, he said.

Over 60 passenger flights per week were flying between India and the UK in December.

However, the aviation ministry suspended all passenger flights connecting the two countries from December 23 onwards as a new variant of the coronavirus emerged in the UK.

Several countries including India had suspended flight services to the UK in the wake of the new mutant Covid-19 strain.

ALSO WATCH: