All that’s changed in India for global air travellers
No relief is in sight for international flyers as the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has extended the suspension on scheduled commercial international flights till January 31. DGCA announced the move in a tweet on Thursday.
This restriction, however, shall not apply to international all-cargo operations and flights specifically approved by the DGCA. International scheduled flights may still be allowed on select routes by the authorities on a case-to-case basis.
— DGCA (@DGCAIndia) December 9, 2021
Announcing the extension on Thursday, India also changed its list of ‘at-risk’ countries. ‘At-risk’ nations are those travellers from where are subjected to additional health requirements.
Should you panic?
There is no reason to switch on the panic button as this decision doesn’t translate into an automatic cancellation of all scheduled international flights. Global flights scheduled right now are operating under special air-bubble arrangements and these flights will continue to operate as per their schedule.
India has air bubble arrangements with 32 countries, including the US, Singapore, Qatar, the UAE, the UK, Bhutan, France, Germany, among others. However, travel to these countries will be subject to their health guidelines.
Scheduled international flights have remained suspended since the first outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, back in March 2020. But in November this year, the Indian government had decided to resume scheduled international flights from December 15 which it subsequently revoked due to rising concerns over the Omicron variant of coronavirus.
The decision was revoked in light of the rapid spread of the new variant first reported from South Africa. The DGCA had said that a new effective date of resumption will be notified at a later date.
The government had decided to allow a resumption of flights in a calibrated manner with a staggered reopening for countries considered ‘at-risk’ before the threat of Omicron emerged.
According to bilateral agreements, among the ‘at-risk’ countries, if India has an air bubble arrangement, flights would have been resumed at a 75 per cent capacity. For those without an air bubble, flights would have resumed at 50 per cent capacity. For all the remaining countries that are not a part of the ‘at-risk’ category, 100 per cent flights had been allowed to resume.
Changes to the list of ‘at-risk’ countries
The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has removed Singapore and Bangladesh from the list of ‘at-risk’ countries. So passengers from these places will be allowed to travel to India without a necessary quarantine. The government has added Ghana and Tanzania to the list.
Now the list of ‘at-risk’ countries comprises Europe, including the UK, in addition to South Africa, Brazil, Botswana, China, Ghana, Mauritius, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Hong Kong and Israel.
