The Indian government has allowed scheduled international flights with several countries starting on 15th December 2021, a piece of great news for travelers planning to travel abroad this year-end.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) of the Government of India, in an order released on Friday, divided the countries into three parts following a Covid analysis by the health ministry, thus allowing resumption of flights.
Risk-free countries: Flights based upon bilateral air service agreements or pre-Covid times. Examples include the United States and Canada.
Those countries that are at risk and where India has an air bubble agreement: Flights will be slowed by 75 percent.
50 percent of pre-Covid countries are at risk and India does not have an air bubble with them.
International flights from all countries except 14 have been allowed, according to sources.
However, the following countries are not on the list:
- United Kingdom
- France
- Germany
- Netherlands
- Finland
- South Africa
- Brazil
- Bangladesh
- Botswana
- China
- Mauritius
- New Zealand
- Zimbabwe and
- Singapore
According to reports, India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation has already told airlines that they can begin normal scheduled flights to and from all nations beginning in mid-December, with the exception of the 14 countries with whom India will maintain the existing air bubble arrangement.
Regular foreign flights were suspended in March 2020 as a result of the COVID epidemic. The Civil Aviation Ministry even announced Vande Bharat flights to transport Indians stranded in foreign countries because to the COVID outbreak. Following the Vande Bharat flight, the Ministry began air bubble agreements with various nations to facilitate international travel.
MoCA Secretary Rajiv Bansal remarked yesterday that he expects international flight operations to restart by the end of the year, and that he hopes international scheduled flight operations would begin shortly.
Additionally, the Ministry of Civil Aviation said that the decision to resume international flights by mid-December was made in consultation with the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and will benefit the aviation industry that is suffering under the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
