The regular international flights will be resumed by 27^th march after two years of ban. International flights are banned since 2019, the airlines across the globe are set to start their summer schedule on this day.   For the last two years, the world has seen on and off terrible situation of the Covid 19 pandemic which halted not only the personal lives of the people but also commercial sectors too.

Earlier, the DGCA had extended the ban on international flights till February 28, which was the continuation of the ban on international flights since March 2020. During this period, special passenger flights have been operating between India and 40 countries since July 2020. These flights were meant to bring back Indians from those foreign countries who have bubble flight agreements. There are 37 countries with whom India has a bubble flight agreement. The agreement is based upon the restarting of commercial passenger services when regular international flights are suspended. It includes the reciprocal operation of flights between countries.

Earlier, the DGCA announced on November 26^th, 2021 that the international flights would resume from December 15, 2021, but prime minister Modi asked the Civil Aviation Ministry to review their decision in the light of emerging Omicron, a new variant of Covid 19. After that, the DGCA suspended the international flights without stating the further date of their resumption. Now the wave of Covid 19 has subsided, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare listed eighty-two countries that have mutual acceptance of vaccination. Along with this, new rules with regards to home quarantine and negative RT-PCR tests are applicable. According to new rules, home quarantine and negative RT-PCR tests are not mandatory for international passengers but they will have to monitor themselves and they need to be fully vaccinated.

This decision from the Civil Aviation Ministry is welcoming when the entire tourism industry has been dormant for the last two years due to pandemics. With the international flights getting restarting, countries will have opportunities to reinstate their tourism business. Ronojoy Dutta, director, and CEO of IndiGo has appreciated the step, ‘This step will provide impetus to the economic recovery for the sector and the nation, with borders opening for tourists.’ He further stated ‘We look forward to connecting our customers to the people and places they love. We will soon be announcing the schedule for our international destinations, in accordance with these new guidelines.’

Talking about air travel and tourism, we must not forget the emotional state people underwent. People who planned for joyous holidays had to cancel their plans which caused a big blow to their pockets. The hotel industry too had to face a hit as there were no guests to stay and visit the places. The executive director of Bird Group, which owns Roseate hotels & Resorts and travel technology firm Amadeus India said, ‘An increase in inbound tourism ahead of the summer season will definitely rev up the revenue stream for country’s bleeding aviation industry. The hospitality industry will also get a major leg-up from this move that could drive inbound tourism in a major way.’ We hope all industries work normally, be it aviation, hospitality, food, or clothing and no more variants of the pandemic arrive.