Centre may allow domestic air travel without Covid -ve report

New Delhi, June 7: The Centre is considering a mechanism to allow air passengers who have got both doses of the Covid19 vaccine to travel within the country without a negative test report, senior government officials said on Monday.

Central ministries, including the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, are currently discussing the matter with various other stakeholders, they added.

Currently, a number of states, including Odisha, Meghalaya and Maharashtra, ask passengers coming from outside to carry a Covid-negative report with them wherein the test sample was taken not more than 72 hours before the journey.

Domestic airlines, which have already taken a major hit due to the Covid-19 pandemic, have told the civil aviation ministry that such statelevel requirements are hampering the growth of air travel and the fullyvaccinated passengers should be allowed to travel without Covid-negative reports, the officials said.

Domestic air travel had reached around three lakh passengers per day by the end of February.

However, the second wave of the pandemic has reduced it to around 85,000 passengers per day.

To conserve cash and survive this tough time, all Indian airlines have taken measures such as cutting the employees' salaries, firing employees and renegotiating leases with aircraft lessors. Since health is a state subject, the Centre is discussing with the states a way through which domestic air passengers, who have got both doses of the Covid19 vaccine, can be allowed to travel without the test reports, the officials said.