India, United States Reach Agreement to Restart Commercial Flights

The Indian government has reached an agreement with the United States Department of Transportation on the restart of commercial flights between the two countries on July 23.

According to Reuters, the U.S. Transportation Department has withdrawn an order requiring Indian air carriers to apply for authorization before conducting flights, and approved an Air India application for passenger flights between the two nations.

The U.S. government had previously accused India of engaging in “unfair and discriminatory practices” in June after the country banned all scheduled services to America due to the coronavirus outbreak.

India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation said it is working with the U.S., United Arab Emirates, France and Germany on allowing flights to and from the nation, with “similar arrangements also being worked out with several other countries.”

The U.S.-India Air Transport Agreement was reached as part of a larger effort by President Donald Trump and his administration “to restore a level playing field for U.S. airlines.”

While India may be relaunching flights to the U.S., The Bahamas recently announced it would close its airports and seaports to passengers coming from America due to the rising number of confirmed coronavirus cases.

Not all destinations are taking a step back, as officials from the island nation of Dominica announced it would reopen its borders to foreign visitors beginning on August 7.