Amid complete lockdown in containment zones in West Bengal, the ban on passenger flights to Kolkata from six cities including Delhi and Mumbai has been extended till July 31 coronavirus cases continue to surge in the state. Earlier, flight operations to Kolkata from Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Nagpur and Ahmedabad were suspended on the request of West Bengal government. "The restriction on arriving flights to #KolkataAirport from 6 cities viz Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Nagpur & Ahmedabad has been extended up to 31st July," the NSCBI airport tweeted. The decision was taken after the West Bengal government requested the Ministry of Civil Aviation to suspend flight operations to Kolkata from high-risk cities. The West Bengal government on Friday added 35 more areas to the list of ‘broad-based’ containment zones, increasing the number of areas to 676.

Source: dna July 17, 2020 17:48 UTC