“Air Bubbles” may allow international travel soon again. What do they mean?

Civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh announced that “air-bubbles” would allow passengers to experience international travel again

Air-bubbles are bilateral agreements that India signed with France and the United States, that would allow international air travel to resume with certain limitations.

“The whole idea of an air bubble is that you are at a stage short of normal civil aviation activities, which depend on several factors like the virus, demand situation, and the number of flights that are being allowed to operate by major cities,” said Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.

“Air-bubbles” are international flights between India and France and the United States. These flights would be more relaxed than the repatriation flights but will not be the same as normal aviation once was.

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“We will carry as many people as we can through these air bubbles. But it will not be free. There will be some checks and balances and the foreign countries are also imposing restrictions. So even if you have a visa and all, special permission will be required,” he added.

International flights to and fro India were suspended on March 23rd and international movement had remained closed as countries across the world were in a state of either partial or total lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

India’s flag carrier airline, Air India, began the Vande Bharat mission, a programme aimed at bringing back Indian citizens stuck across the world. Prices in this evacuation process were predetermined and flights were booked via embassies.

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It appears that as of now Air France is booking flights from India to France but not vice versa. "There is no confirmation on flights from Paris to India, sir. We are only booking for flights from India,” an Air France employee told MoneyControl.

These air bubbles would not mean that standard preventive protocol during the pandemic would be suspended. Patrons will have to adhere to the different types of norms an airline sets. For instance, those on an Emirates flight would have to carry a Covid negative test report. Similarly, passengers would have to adhere to the regulations set by the destination country, meaning any state-mandated quarantine and testing would have to be followed through.

Indian carriers like Vistara and SpiceJet are expected to resume international flights soon.

Air ticket prices are expected to reduce, with Air India having already announced a 25 per cent decrease in fares.