Vistara said on Monday it will start flights on the Delhi-Tokyo route from June 16 under the air bubble arrangement formed between India and Japan. The airline will fly once a week between the two capital cities, said its statement. Vistara’s announcement comes at a time when India and its aviation sector have been badly hit by the second wave of coronavirus infections.

During the last few weeks, several countries such as Australia, the US, and the UK have restricted travel to and from India. Vistara said it will use its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft with a three-class cabin configuration to serve the Delhi-Tokyo route.

”Vistara has also trained its cabin crew in the Japanese language to extend the warmth of true Indian hospitality to travellers from Japan,” the airline’s statement noted. Leslie Thng, Chief Executive Officer, Vistara, said, Far East has been extremely important geography for our global expansion from the beginning for its tremendous growth potential.” During the last few weeks, the number of domestic air passengers per day have come down from the peak of more than 2.2 lakh to around 75,000 right now, according to the civil aviation ministry’s data.

Similarly, international air traffic has also been affected by the second wave of the pandemic. After recording over four lakh fresh cases for four consecutive days, India witnessed a single-day rise of 3,66,161 COVID-19 cases on Monday, which pushed its tally to 2,26,62,575, according to the health ministry.

The death toll due to the viral disease climbed to 2,46,116 with 3,754 more people succumbing to it, the ministry’s data updated at 8 am showed.

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