After four months of suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the flight operations between India and Bangladesh resumed on Friday as a part of the Air-bubble agreement. IndiGo, Air India, and other domestic airlines will be operating flights to Dhaka.
The flight services between the two countries were suspended four months ago due to the second wave of covid-19.
Before announcing the operation of flights, the Indian government has imposed a number of restrictions for flights with limited passengers and strict health protocols. “Passengers traveling from Bangladesh to India shall be mandatorily subjected to self-paid confirmatory molecular tests on arrival at the Indian airports concerned (port of entry). Therefore instead of a blanket restriction of 140 passengers per aircraft, it is proposed that the capacity may be restricted to a specific percentage of the installed seat capacity of the aircraft (say 90 percent or 95 percent),” the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) said.
India has an air bubble agreement with 28 countries, which include Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Canada, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Iraq, Japan, Kenya, Kuwait, the Maldives, Nepal, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Russia, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Ukraine, the UAE, the United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, and the United States. Under an air bubble pact between two nations, special international flights can be operated by their airlines between their territories.
In a communication to the civil aviation authority of Bangladesh on August 28, the ministry of civil aviation said that the air bubble can be restarted from September 3 till the resumption of international passenger flights. “The air bubble may be resumed w.e.f. 03.09.21 till resumption of scheduled international passenger flights,” the ministry of civil aviation informed, according to news agency PTI. Domestic carriers — SpiceJet, IndiGo, and Air India — will be operating flights to Dhaka.
However, travelers holding tourist visas will not be allowed to travel to India. “Government of India would be applicable to such passengers, as amended from time to time. It may be noted that passengers holding tourist visas are not allowed to enter India as on date,” MoCA Letter read.
– Nationals/residents of Bangladesh and foreign nationals holding valid visas from Bangladesh; and
– Any Indian national holding any type of valid visa from Bangladesh. It would be for the airlines concerned to ensure that there is no travel restriction for Indian nationals to enter Bangladesh before the issue of ticket/ boarding pass to the Indian passenger.
From Bangladesh to India
– Indian nationals;
– All Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders holding passports issued by Bangladesh
Bangladeshi nationals/residents (including diplomats) and foreigners (including diplomats) holding valid visas issued by an Indian Mission in any category covered under Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) guidelines dated 30.06.2020 as amended from time to time.
