India joined the European nations to temporarily ban flights from UK after the emergence of a new strain of the coronavirus in Britain, that is believed to be more infectious and dangerous.
"Considering the prevailing situation in the UK, Indian govt has decided that all flights originating from the UK to India shall be temporarily suspended till 11:59 pm, 31st December. This suspension to start w.e.f. 11.59 pm, 22nd December," the Ministry of Civil Aviation tweeted on Monday.
Describing the move as preventive, the ministry said passengers arriving from UK in all transit flights which have taken off or flights which are reaching India before Dec. 22, 2020 at 23.59 hrs will be subject to mandatory RT-PCR test on arrival at the airports.
Earlier, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had exressed his concerns over the rapid spread of the new variant of the Covid-19 virus in Britain and urged the Centre to ban all flights from the UK immediately. London said on Sunday that the spread of the new more-infectious strain was "out of control".
Even Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan referred to the fears of the new strain of coronavirus in UK and assured the citizens that the government is alert and there is no need to panic.
India's move comes close on the heels of similar ban on flights and travellers from Britain by European nations such as France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Ireland and Bulgaria.
Cancellation of Christmas shopping
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday called for cancellation of Christmas shopping and gatherings in southern England due to the rapid spread of the new variant strain of coronavirus, that was found to be 70 per cent more transmissible than existing strains. It has affected mostly London and southern England in recent weeks. However, Johnson said that "there's no evidence to suggest it is more lethal or causes more severe illness."
Johnson is chairing an emergency response meeting on Monday to discuss flight bans and possible measures to ensure safety of international travel originating from the country.
