India bans entry of passengers from Europe

India has prohibited all airlines from carrying passengers from the European Union and the European Free Trade Association member states. The blanket ban will come into effect from March 18 from 5.30 pm onwards.

“Travel advisories have been tightened as a preventive measure,” said health ministry joint secretary Lav Aggarwal.

An order by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said, “No airline shall board a passenger from these nations from March 18. The airline shall enforce this at the port of initial departure.”

The European Free Trade Association states include Liechtenstein, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. United Kingdom and Turkey too will fall under the ban.

The government has already mandated a 14-day quarantine for all passengers from China, Italy, Iran, Republic of Korea, France, Spain and Germany. People from four other countries – UAE, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait – will be quarantines for 14 days irrespective of their medical condition.

The fresh restrictions come against the backdrop of four new corona virus cases – one each in Odisha, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and Kerala – taking the total number of cases to 114 as of yesterday.