Indonesia Yet to Close Flight Route to India, Awaits Task Force's Decision

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Transportation Ministry has not yet closed flight routes to India, such as charter flights, following a spike in Covid-19 cases in the country. The ministry’s Civil Aviation Directorate General spokesman Budi Prayitno said his side is still waiting for the order from the national Covid-19 Task Force.

“There has been no request from the task force to close flights to and from India,” said Budi to Tempo on Friday, April 23.

Budi said the institution authorized to pass policies during the Covid-19 pandemic is the Covid-19 Task Force. State-owned airport operator AP I spokesman Denoan Rinaldi also said there was no provision regarding the route closure.

AP I is still waiting for the official policy from the regulator. “We will later announce it after the policy is released,” said Denoan.

The number of Covid-19 positive cases in India jumped to 15.6 million with 13.3 million recoveries and 183,000 deaths. The spike in cases reportedly occurred due to the new virus variant and the public’s lack of compliance with the health protocols. India is now classified as the high-risk Covid-19 nation.

A number of countries, including Hong Kong, had suspended flights from India from April 20 for two weeks after the new coronavirus variant bearing the N501Y mutation was detected.

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FRANCISCA CHRISTY ROSANA