New Delhi: The Indian government on Monday prohibited entry of passengers from European Union (EU) countries, European Free Trade Association, Turkey and United Kingdom into India as a step to combat the further spread of Covid-19 in the country.

"No airlines shall board passengers from these nations with effect from 1200 GMT on 18 March 2020," the aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said in a circular adding that this measure is expected to be enforced till 31 March following which the situation will be reviewed again. The government has also extended minimum quarantine period of 14 days to those Indian passengers coming through or from UAE, Qatar, Oman, and Kuwait from 18 March till 31 March.

As things stand, the Indian government has barred the entry of foreigners and kept on hold the visa-free facility granted to Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders till 15 April, adding to steps being taken to combat Covid-19. However, the latest directives by the government will make it difficult for Indians returning back from EU, UK and Turkey.

Globally, more than 6,513 people have died due to Covid-19, while the number of those infected stands at over 169,387. Apart from India, many governments globally, including the US government, have implemented a temporary travel ban into the country.

Government on Monday also said that passengers coming or transiting through UAE, Qatar, Oman, and Kuwait will be compulsorily quarantined for a minimum period of 14 days. The move is against the backdrop of swelling cases in these gulf countries.

In addition to the above, all incoming passengers, including Indian nationals, arriving from China, Italy, Iran, Republic of Korea, France, Spain and Germany are already being quarantined for a minimum period of 14 days with from 13 March.

Public health experts have said that travel restriction may help in containing the virus. “From regular health advisories to ringtones; to a lockdown mode with visa cancellations and travel restrictions, the government is going all out to control the rising instances of Corona in the country. However, a pandemic such as this needs a collective response and a behavior shift at all levels," said Himanshu Sikka, Lead- Health, Nutrition & WASH, IPE Global, a international public health consultancy.

Meanwhile the government has also strongly advised Indians to avoid all non-essential travel abroad. International traffic through land borders has also been restricted to designated check posts with robust screening facilities.

In order to further restrict entry of any Covid-19 infected persons in India, the Bureau of Immigration, (Ministry of Home Affairs) has also suspended all visas except those issued to Diplomats, Officials from United Nations or International organizations, Employment Protect visas till April 15.

With global travel bans due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and subsequent impact on travel demand, many airlines across the world are staring at massive losses and fear going bust.

"We expect a significant negative growth in monthly domestic (aviation) traffic which can go as high as 50 per cent at least up to June, depending on the severity of the outbreak in India in the near term," rating agency Acuite Ratings and Research said in a recent report.

As per the latest data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), domestic passenger traffic grew 2.2 per cent in January.

"The spillover effect of the Covid-19 crisis on the domestic aviation sector is likely to be very significant over the March-May period," it added.

Airlines internationally have cancelled flights as demand has plummeted following the travel restrictions imposed by major countries following the outbreak of Covid-19.

Several international airlines could be staring at bankruptcy, aviation consultancy firm Capa said in a recent report.

"As the impact of the coronavirus and multiple government travel reactions sweep through our world, many airlines have probably already been driven into technical bankruptcy, or are at least substantially in breach of debt covenants," Capa said.

"Forward bookings are far outweighed by cancellations and each time there is a new government recommendation it is to discourage flying. Demand is drying up in ways that are completely unprecedented. Normality is not yet on the horizon," it added.

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