Flights to and from the UK have been banned till December 31 over a new fast-spreading strain of the coronavirus in that country, the government said today.
"Considering the prevailing situation in UK, the government of India has decided that all flights originating from UK to India to be suspended till 31st December," said the centre.
"Consequently flights from India to UK shall stand temporarily suspended during above said period."
Passengers of flights from UK arriving before midnight tomorrow will have to take an RT-PCR test at airports.
A joint monitoring group on COVID-19 had met this morning to discuss the mutant coronavirus that has spread rapidly in the UK.
Canada, Saudi Arabia, and several European countries have suspended flights from the UK over the new strain, believed to be 70 per cent more infectious.
Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said the government was fully alert about the new strain and stressed "there's no need to panic".
There had been calls to ban flights from the UK since yesterday. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted: "New mutation of corona virus has emerged in UK, which is a super-spreader. I urge central government to ban all flights from UK immediately."
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