India has Air Bubble Pact with 17 countries
Air Bubble agreement is a bilateral air corridor being established between various countries to ease travel restrictions amidst travel ban imposed by various countries due to COVID-19. Despite the ban, India was among the first few nations to start a repatriation drive as early as May to bring back stranded Indians.
India had initially established travel bubbles with countries like the United States, Germany and France. Soon after, Air Bubbles were established to further ease the travel in. Since then, India has formed agreements with 17 nations in total the latest being Ukraine on October 14, 2020.
The listed countries under this agreement are France, Germany, USA, UK, Canada, Maldives, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Nigeria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Japan, Kenya, Bhutan, Oman and Ukraine. The government is in discussion with Italy, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, New Zealand, Australia, Israel, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Ukraine and Thailand for similar arrangements.
‘Transport Bubbles’ or ‘Air Travel Arrangements’ are temporary arrangements between two countries aimed at restarting commercial passenger services when regular international flights are suspended as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the arrangement, airlines from both countries are allowed to operate, unlike Mission Vande Bharat where only Indian air carriers were allowed to operate flights. They are reciprocal in nature, meaning airlines from both countries enjoy similar benefits.
Also, unlike Vande Bharat Mission, the Air Bubble Pact allows flyers to travel freely without registering with the government. In Vande Bharat Mission, one has to register their name with the Indian Embassy in order to fly out of a specific country. Also, the air bubble agreement allows flights from both countries to fly increasing the options for travellers and reducing prices. Mission Vande Bharat is undertaken only in countries where no flight is allowed to fly.
Hardeep Singh Puri, MoS, I/C, Civil Aviation had informed in a recent press meet that till the first week of October, the government has facilitated the repatriation and international travel of over 20 lakh people through different means since May 6, 2020. The Minister also said that under Vande Bharat Mission, 17, 11,128 people have travelled back to India and 2, 97,536 people have travelled out of India.
However, the majority of flights are still bringing out stranded Indian citizens, OCI cardholders and diplomats not all countries are allowing visas of all categories. It’s only that under the air bubble agreement, you don’t have to do additional paperwork like registering online or with the embassy to fly in and out of the country. The rest of the travelling remains the same as the preCOVID period, only that international border rules apply. In India, for example, even people holding valid tourist visas are not allowed.