The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Wednesday said it is currently monitoring the situation related to the new Covid-19 variant of concern, Omicron, and announced its decision to not resume scheduled international flights from December 15.

The DCGA also said that the government would take a call on a new date to resume scheduled international flights in due course. Flights operating under the air bubble agreements, however, will continue. “In view of the evolving global scenario with the emergence of new variant of concern, the situation is being watched closely in consultation with all the stakeholders and an appropriate decision indicating the effective date of resumption of scheduled commercial international passenger services shall be notified in due course,” the DCGA mentioned in a statement.

The notification comes merely a week after the announcement to reopen international flights from December 15 following a gap of 20 months. The World Health Organisation (WHO) last Friday classified the new Covid-19 variant, B.1.1.529, first detected in South Africa on November 24, 2021, as a highly transmissible virus of concern and renamed it Omicron.