Which destinations can Indians fly to; which nations have imposed restrictions?

Team Udayavani, Oct 19, 2020, 1:28 PM IST

Indians can now fly to 18 countries, with the Ministry of Civil Aviation establishing “air bubble” arrangements with countries. But there are some countries where Indians are not permitted to travel.

Air bubbles are bilateral agreements through which a specific number of airlines, from both the countries, can fly. However, the agreement doesn’t permit an airline to fly passengers from somewhere else before or after the journey between the two countries, which have signed the agreement

The United States, the UK, Germany, France, the UAE, Maldives, Canada, Japan, Bahrain, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Qatar, Iraq, Oman, Bhutan, Kenya, Bangladesh and Ukraine are the 18 countries where Indians can fly.

It is said that India was negotiating with 13 other countries to establish air bubble arrangements. These countries include Italy, New Zealand, Australia, Israel, Kenya, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand.

Countries that have suspended/restricted flights from India?

Hong Kong has banned Air India and Vistara flights from October 17 to 30 after a few passengers on their flights tested positive for Covid-19 upon arrival.

As reported by India.com, Recently, issues had occurred regarding the number of flights being operated by Lufthansa and Air India between India and Germany, leading to the suspension of the air bubble arrangement between the two countries

Dubai had also banned Air India flights after the airline carried Covid-19 positive passengers on two different occasions.