The Ministry of Civil Aviation has announced that no domestic commercial airlines shall fly with effect from the midnight that is 11:59 pm on March 24 till the midnight of March 31. Airlines have to plan operations so as to land at their destination before the given time on the given date. The restrictions, however, shall not apply to cargo-carrying flights.

Ahead of this, several airlines in India had temporarily suspended their international operations in light of the pandemic. In order to effectively tackle the situation, several countries have sealed their borders and implemented travel restrictions.

Several airlines have also approached the government seeking relief packages to minimise the blow. Sources close to the matter suggest that the relief package in question includes a waiver of landing and parking charges and payment to oil marketing companies, a limited period concession of the standing rule of slot allocation, which mandates that firms must operate at least 80 per cent of their allocated slots. As airlines suffer from lesser flights, a recent study by global aviation consultancy service provider CAPA has stated that most of the airlines around the world will face bankruptcy if the government does not intervene.