Passenger flights resumed from the UK to India in limited numbers from Friday onwards after remaining suspended for 16 days

New Delhi: Passenger flights resumed from the UK to India in limited numbers from Friday onwards after remaining suspended for 16 days due to the emergence of a new coronavirus variant in that country.

The first flight to land at the Delhi airport from London on Friday was Air India's AI112 that had 256 passengers in it, said Gauri Agarwal, founder of the Genestrings Diagnostic Center, on Thursday.

FlightsOne Vistara flight with 291 passengers will come from London to Delhi on Saturday and two flights - one of British Airways and another of Air India - with a total of 481 passengers will land at the Delhi airport on Sunday, she added.

Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had announced earlier this month that only 30 flights per week will operate between India and the UK between January 8 and January 23. Indian and UK carriers will each be operating 15 flights per week during the period.

Flights

Earlier this month, the Union Health Ministry stated that a passenger coming from the UK can board a flight to India only when he has a negative test report from a sample taken 72 hours prior to the journey.

Moreover, as per the rules, the passenger also has to take the RT-PCR test on arrival at the entry airport in India.