New Delhi: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has permitted an Amsterdam-Delhi flight with 120 Indian passengers, which was turned back due to aviation restrictions applied in view of the coronavirus pandemic, to land in India on Sunday, an official said.
The Netherlands' KLM Airlines on Saturday said its Amsterdam-Delhi flight with 120 Indians on board was turned back due to "conflicting" information on flight restrictions imposed by the Indian authorities in order to hinder the spread of COVID-19.
The official said the DGCA on Saturday night issued permission for the Dutch airline to land its aircraft carrying the Indian citizens in the national capital on March 22.
In a statement, KLM Airline said, "On March 20, Flight KL871 from Amsterdam to Delhi had to be redirected to Schiphol due to conflicting information on entry restrictions in the country. 120 passengers on board this aircraft are residents of India, who were on their way to Delhi via a transfer at Schiphol, and are now on airside at Schiphol."
The plane had transit passengers from the US and the UK too, and there was confusion over whether such passengers could disembark on Indian soil as they were not taking direct flights and their segregation could be difficult.
The central government has announced it will not allow any international commercial passenger flight to land in India from Sunday onward for a week.
KLM airline had said it "ensures to abide and respect" the regulations put in place by the Indian authorities and that it will fly these passengers only if a final agreement is provided by the authorities in India.
"KLM is committed to doing everything it can to repatriate as many travellers as possible," the statement said.
The Dutch airline further said, "KLM will re-operate flight KL872 for the passengers in Delhi who were supposed to return to Amsterdam on the above mentioned flight for a departure on the night of March 22."
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