Regular international passenger flights from Mar 27 after two-year gap

Scheduled international passenger flights will resume on March 27, two years after a ban was imposed to prevent Covid-19 cases from spreading. The government had banned all international scheduled flights for a week starting March 23, but it stretched to nearly two years in the midst of a raging pandemic. The civil aviation ministry on Tuesday announced the resumption of such flights and an end to air transport bubbles, which replaced regular scheduled flights over the past two years.

The move is expected to boost international capacity and will help soften airfares, which have been soaring due to increased demand and rise in crude oil prices.

While the government had earlier planned to resume international flights on March 15, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which necessitated relief flights to bring back stranded Indians in Ukraine, delayed the process.

“After having recognised the increased vaccination coverage across the globe and in consultation with the stakeholders, the government of India has decided to resume scheduled commercial international passenger services to/from India from March 27,” the ministry said in a press release.

For airlines, it is a much-needed relief because resuming international operations means they will be able to use aircraft on longer sectors, resulting in better utilisation of assets. They will also be able to improve their revenue earned per seat because fares are higher on international sectors than on domestic routes.

For instance, despite the 100 per cent opening up of domestic travel, IndiGo, which has around 270 aircraft, had a few planes grounded.

“This step will provide an impetus to economic recovery for the sector and the nation, with borders opening for tourists. 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,” said IndiGo Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ronojoy Dutta. 

On Monday, there were 617 international flights. That is around 50 per cent of the pre-Covid capacity. At present India has air transport-bubble agreements with 37 countries. Flights under air transport bubbles are essentially scheduled flights but operate on conditions. 

For instance, airlines are allowed to sell tickets for only a limited number of onward destinations. In the case of certain countries, bubble agreements allow for only point-to-point traffic. Resuming normal international flights would give passengers a wider travel choice.

In February, the government eased entry restrictions for international passengers. Fully vaccinated travellers do not have to undergo a seven-day home quarantine or an RT-PCR test on arrival. The easing came on the back of decline in Covid-19 cases.

The government had earlier decided to allow scheduled international passenger flights on December 15 last year but the decision was reversed due to the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 globally.

The travel sector hailed the government's latest announcements.

“The demand for international travel is picking up in India and there has been a significant uptick in travel search queries for popular international destinations like Australia, Sri Lanka, the US, and the UK. Resuming international commercial flights will regularise the demand-supply balance, resulting in lower international airfares,” said Aloke Bajpai, co-founder and group CEO, ixigo.

Rajiv Mehra, president of the Indian Association of Tour Operators, said: “To get more foreign tourists to come to India, we urge the government to restore all visas that were issued earlier but were suspended due to the pandemic. Besides, we appeal to the government to resume multiple entry visas and e-visas for countries that have been barred, particularly from source markets like the UK and Canada. We also request the government to extend the validity of free tourist visas till March 31, 2024, without capping the limit of 500,000 free tourist visas.