COVID-19: Government issues new guidelines for international travellers
Overseas flights to and from India are currently operated as per air bubble agreements with various countries
The Ministry of Civil Aviation has issued new rules for international passengers amid the spread of mutant variants of coronavirus in many countries.
The new Standard Operating Procedures will come into effect from February 22. There are fresh guidelines for all incoming international travellers through flights originating from the United Kingdom, Europe and the Middle East.
Due to the scare of new variants of coronavirus, the government has suspended international scheduled flights till February 28. Overseas flights to and from India are currently operated as per air bubble agreements with various countries.
Here are the new guidelines:
According to the official release, passengers coming from other countries except the ones coming through flights originating from the UK, Europe and the Middle East will have to submit self-declaration form on Air Suvidha portal before their scheduled travel.
A negative COVID-19 RT-PCR report has to be submitted. Those travelling to India in the urgency of death in the family are exempted from the new guidelines. The passenger will have to apply to the online portal www.newdelhiairport.in at least 72 hours before boarding for seeking the exemption.
The test should have been conducted within 72 hours prior to the journey and each passenger will also have to submit a declaration with respect to the authenticity of the report.
Only asymptomatic passengers will be allowed to travel after the thermal screening.
As per Civil Aviation Ministry, travellers arriving through seaports or land ports shall follow the same protocol, except that facility for online registration is not available for such passengers currently.
All such clauses shall be applicable to travellers coming/transiting from flights originating in the UK, Europe and Middle East except for clauses on testing, quarantine and isolation, the ministry stated.
Keeping in mind the testing requirements for passengers from the UK, Brazil and South Africa, who have to take connecting flights, airlines should keep the passengers informed about the need for the transit time of a minimum of 6-8 hours at the entry airport (in India) while booking the tickets for connecting flights, as per the guidelines.
Airlines should identify the international travellers arriving from/transiting through the United Kingdom, Brazil and South Africa (during past 14 days) and segregate them in-flight or while disembarking to facilitate the authorities to follow the due protocol in respect of these travellers, it stated.
All the travellers arriving from/transiting through flights originating in the United Kingdom, Europe or the Middle East shall be mandatorily subjected to self-paid confirmatory molecular tests on arrival at the Indian airports concerned (port of entry).
The state-wise passenger manifest of the flights originating from Europe and the Middle East and landing at Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai airports in India for the said period shall be conveyed by the Bureau of Immigration to State Government/Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme, among others.
For the international travellers on stay of less than 14 days who have tested negative and remain symptom-free, shall undergo all the procedures as above and shall be permitted to leave India under proper intimation to their District/State health authorities, subject to them fulfilling the requirement of the airlines and destination country, as per the guidelines.