The order will allow US officials "to scrutinize charter flights by Indian carriers on a case-by-case basis." The Indian government, citing the coronavirus, has banned all scheduled services and failed to approve US carriers for charter operations, the department said. The department previously accused China of unfairly denying US air carriers the ability to conduct flights and also demanded China seek preapproval for some charter flights. The US government said Air India has been operating what it calls "repatriation" charter flights between India and the United States in both directions since May 7. Air India is advertising flights "that would constitute a rate of 53% of the scheduled services it operated before the onset of the current public health emergency," the department said.

Source: bd News24 June 22, 2020 23:03 UTC