India All Set To Repeal Air Travel Restrictions For Overseas Flight

Last Updated on Jul 10th, 2024 by Ankita Awasthi, Leave a Comment

Official Announcement

As reported by a government official in New Delhi, the regular international flights that were shut down in March 2020 are expected to resume with former travel policies within one month. The aviation ministry has discussed this with the health ministry and is considering a possible date of the 15th of March or next month’s end when the summer schedule will be unveiled.

Relaxed Global Air Travel Standards 

Indubitable to say, it’s a huge relief for international travelers as the relaxed global standards for testing and quarantine following the easing of Omicron have increased the need and demand for traveling yet again. 

Air Bubble And Fare Consequences

As we were informed previously, India had decided to schedule and operate with 40 other countries as the “special passenger flight.” Effective July 2020, this agreement between India and the concerned 40 countries was recognized as the air bubble arrangement. Howbeit, due to the limited flights in the air bubble, prices have risen dramatically for this summer.

Citizen Feedbacks

1. A former banker from Delhi, Richa Gupta, has been wishing to make reservations for flights to the US this summer to be with her son, who studies in Boston. “The fares currently are Rs 1.07 lakh return in an American airline’s economy. Last January, we booked this for a Rs 60,000 return. In December, our son flew to Delhi and back for Rs 1.6 lakh when Omicron was at its peak. Now that the situation is improving, that should be reflected in fares too,” the lady shared. 

“Announcing the dates for reopening will allow airlines to gradually put more flights in the booking system. Once that happens, the increased supply will mean lower fares,” Richa further added. 

2. Anil Kalsi, a leading Delhi-based travel agent, stated, “With the UK removing Covid-related tests and quarantine restrictions, there is a surge of reservations from India. The fares have shot up by as much as 50%. In the short term, seats are selling for as much as over Rs 1.2 lakh in economy class.”

Repealing Consequences: Before Vs After

Several sections of the USA, especially the UK, are an ideal example. Its market is experiencing a sharp increase in airfares because of the sluggish demand created by lifting restrictions.

Previously, international flights scheduled for the 23rd of March 2020 were suspended all of a sudden. The plan was to resume gradually beginning on the 15th of December, 2021; however, the escalating number of Omicron cases prevented the process from turning out as expected. The travel industry hopes that India resumes its regular flights on an agreement to accept the other’s vaccine certificates without further delay.

Airlines’ Comment

“We were expecting this to happen last August-September when the Delta variant had subsided. However, it was delayed so much that by the time it was supposed to happen, Omicron had set in. We should not lose this window now,” an airline official shared.

Outcome Prediction

The 15th of December reopening announcement has led the concerned international countries’ distribution into three distinct categories. This was introduced in order to set the seal on a slow yet gradual return to normalcy. The predicted results for the same are assumed to be from the range of 100% of the pre-Covid level to 50% based on whether a nation is in strain danger or not.

Government Amended Actions

1. Effective the 14th of February, 2022, India eliminated the ‘at-risk’ classification from travel restrictions/regulations. It replaced it with the listing of the countries or regions from where the fully vaccinated travelers are able to fly without prior testing. 
2. The requirement for mandatory seven-day quarantine at home and the requirement to take tests for RT-PCR on the 8th day was also eliminated. 

As these rules are eased upon, the next step that is not just expected but also would be a smart move at the right time is to return to regular flights. This could happen very soon in the near future.

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