As a prelude to the full reopening of international air travel into and out of India, the Ministry of Civil Aviation here has allowed airlines to fly on domestic routes at full capacity. The Ministry’s order allowing 100 per cent capacity utilization will go into effect on 18th October and coincide with a season of festivals in India. The Ministry has repeatedly cited non-availability of seats on domestic flights as one of the reasons for not resuming regular, scheduled international flights into India. Passengers arriving at internationals airports from abroad would be stranded without adequate domestic connections, it was reasoned. These were replaced by temporary “air bubble” arrangements with more than two dozen countries pending resumption of normal flights.
