India to Resume Normal International Flights from March 27 after 20 Months of Air Bubble Travel

Updated on March 8, 2022: The government of India was all set to resume regular/scheduled international flights on December 15, 2021 after two months of toddling towards normalization of international passenger flight operations, but the Omicron variant of COVID19 disrupted the plans and caused further extension of air bubble flights. The daily number of COVID cases being on a decline, the government issued relaxed guidelines for international arrivals, which has been effective since February 14, 2022, and removed the mandatory RT-PCR testing requirement for fully-vaccinated travelers flying in. The classification of countries as ‘at-risk’ and ‘not at-risk’ has also been rescinded since FEB 14. With the vaccine certificate being a brand-new passport, scheduled international flights to and from India will officially be resumed on March 27, after two years of suspension.

“The recommencement of 100% scheduled international flights is a welcome news for our customers and us. Reportedly, air bubble flights to and from India will be terminated on March 26 (23;59 hrs IST), after long 20 months. We hope the US-India flight tickets will be as normal as it was before the pandemic. Hope last-minute airfares for travel to and from India won’t burn a hole in travelers’ pocket. Despite fares having been exorbitantly high, we provided travelers with competitive deals from our partner airlines,” said the chief travel advisor of Indian Eagle, a leading air-ticketing partner of Indians in America.

The current guidelines for international travelers to India will continue to be effective until further revision. 

Updated on December 5, 2021: India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation has allowed domestic flight operations to be restored to 100% of the pre-pandemic capacity from the current 85%. Given India’s COVID-19 graph on the decline, airlines started operating domestic flights in full capacity with effect from October 18, 2021. Restoring air connectivity between major airport cities and small towns to the pre-pandemic level is one of the pre-set conditions for resuming normal international passenger flights. India-bound international travelers can now reach their final destination in any corner of the country as the pre-COVID capacity of domestic air operations was restored on October 18.

The lifting of the tourist visa ban for foreign citizens is another step towards allowing airlines to resume normal/scheduled flights to India from USA and other countries. The continued suspension of tourist visas kept foreign citizens without an OCI card or an entry visa away from India for the past 18 months. With the country having reopened for foreign visitors on tourist visas, the expected normalization of international commercial flights to and from India will is not far.

Confirming the announcement about the most-awaited resumption of scheduled international flights, inbound and outbound, the Ministry of Tourism’s Additional Director General Rupinder Brar said that India’s air bubble flight operations would be continued till  December 14, 2021. She added that the Ministry of Home Affairs decided on December 15 as the date of resuming scheduled commercial flights on international routes.

Two weeks before the US lifted the entry restrictions after 3 months of deliberating upon certain guidelines, India issued the revised guidelines for seamless entry and arrival of fully-vaccinated, asymptomatic travelers from abroad, starting on October 25. However, India’s guidelines for international arrivals from countries not at risk and countries at risk have again been revised in the wake of Omicron, a COVID variant of concern.  If you are traveling to India on or after DEC 1, these rules will apply to you based on your country of travel origin. 

Simultaneously, the government upgraded the Air Suvidha portal with provision for India-bound travelers to upload their vaccination proof other than a negative RT-PCR test report. It is another significant step towards normalizing international travel to India. According to several reports, the Ministry of Civil Aviation is working on certain guidelines for international commercial flight operations to return to normal.

Currently, inbound travelers’ vaccine certificate and negative RT-PCR report are equally important requirements for exemption from additional testing and quarantine in India. Once the government starts giving preference to vaccine certificates over negative COVID-19 reports, it will be a lot easier for international travelers to arrive in India.