Centre issues SOPS for international travellers
THE SOP STATES THAT PEOPLE DESIROUS TO TRAVEL TO INDIA ON VANDE BHARAT FLIGHTS WILL REGISTER WITH THE INDIAN MISSIONS IN THE COUNTRY WHERE THEY ARE STRANDED
NEWDELHI:THE ministry of home affairs (MHA) on Saturday issued a standard operating protocol (SOP) for international travel on non-scheduled commercial flights under the Vande Bharat scheme and the air transport bubble arrangement.
The SOP, reviewed by HT, states that people desirous to travel to India on Vande Bharat flights will register themselves with the Indian missions in the country where they are stranded/residing, along with necessary details as prescribed by the ministry of external affairs (MEA).
On the other hand, people coming to India on flights operating under air bubble arrangement will not need to register themselves with the Indian missions.
India so far has bilateral air travel arrangements or ‘air bubbles’ with the US, the UK, Germany, France, Qatar, Maldives and the UAE while negotiations are going on with 13 more countries.
The Vande Bharat flights have been operating since May 6 and currently the scheme is in its fifth phase.
The SOP issued on Saturday said that priority will be given to compelling cases in distress, including workers who have been laid off, short-term visa holders faced with expiry of visas, persons with medical emergency, pregnant women, elderly people or those required to return to India due to death of a family member, and students.
For inbound passengers, the MEA (ministry of external affairs) will prepare flight/ship wise database of all travellers, including details such as name, age, gender, mobile number, place of residence, place of final destination, and information on RT-PCR test taken and its result.
“This database will be shared by MEA with the respective states/uts in advance (where the passenger is heading),” the SOP reads.
It said that “in case of people travelling to India under the air bubble arrangement, passenger manifest containing the same details as above for Vande Bharat flights or in a revised format as may be finalised by the MEA with the country concerned, will be submitted by the airlines to the Indian mission in the country concerned before operation of each flight with a copy to the state/ut government of the destination port in India”.
All travellers coming to India will have to give an undertaking that they are making the journey at their own risk, according to the SOP.
In case of people desirous to travel out of India under these two programmes, they will have to apply to the ministry of civil aviation (MOCA) or to an agency designated by it for this purpose, along with necessary details, including the place of departure and arrival, the SOP issued on Saturday said.
It said that Indian seafarers seeking to accept contracts to serve on vessels abroad can travel on non-scheduled commercial flights as allowed by the civil aviation ministry or flights arranged by their employers subject to clearance given by the ministry of shipping.