Fully vaccinated Indians with Covishield can now travel to France & Spain – both countries have also resumed processing applications for all visa categories. UK moves India from ‘red’ to the ‘amber’ list for travel to England. Canada extends direct flight ban till 21st Sep. Indigo announces new direct flights from Pune to Ranchi, Amritsar and Thiruvananthapuram. Billionaire investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala to start new ultra low cost airline, Akasa Air by end 2021. These and more updates in the 1st edition of August ’21 Travel Updates newsletter.

The Union Health Ministry has categorically said that there should not be any RT-PCR test requirement for inter-state travel.Click here to read the statement from the Health Ministry.

However since health is a state subject, states continue to impose a requirement of mandatory RT-PCR testing for entering the state from time to time, based on the state specific trajectory of cases and spread of infection.

Click here to download the latest state wise travel restrictions updated as on 6th August.

The protocols on air travel are updated almost daily so we suggest that you check the latest guidelines on the airline’s website before you leave for the airport for a hassle-free experience.

Indigo has announced new direct flights between Pune and Ranchi, Amritsar and Thiruvananthapuram with effect from 21st August as per the schedule below:

Here is the Lufthansa flight schedule between India and Frankfurt from 1st to 31st August under the 'air bubble' agreement between India and Germany.

Flights from India:

Flights to India:

New regulations for entry into Germany:

Since 1 August 2021, new regulations apply for entry into Germany where risk areas will distinguish between two categories: high-risk areas and areas of variants of concern. The category of “basic” risk area will no longer apply.

Persons aged 12 or over must, as a rule, possess a negative test result or proof of vaccination or recovery at the time of departure.

Transit Passengers: There is no longer a ban on carriage for transit passengers from virus-variant areas as long as they have a connecting flight to a Schengen or Non-Schengen country within 24 hours and they cannot leave the transit area. Transit passengers do not require proof of vaccination/immunity, a negative test result nor an online registration.

United Arab Emirates will lift the ban on entry of passengers from India and five other countries from 5th August for certain category of travellers only. Indians, who have a valid residency permit and are fully vaccinated — at least 14 days prior to the travel — can now enter the UAE.

In addition, UAE will accept transit passengers provided they hold a negative COVID 19 RT-PCR test certificate for a test taken 72 hours or less before departure as required by their final destination.

With this announcement, Indigo has resumed flights to Dubai from various cities in India as per the below schedule:

Click on the links to know more about the travel mandates to enter various cities in the UAE:

Air India is doubling its highly popular US nonstop flights from 7th August as a large number of Indian students head to universities this fall. It had reduced the number of weekly flights from about 40 to under 10 ever since the catastrophic second Covid-19 wave in India saw US imposing restrictions on travellers from the subcontinent starting 4th May.

Now, the airline will operate at least 21 flights per week to the US, with the maximum increase in New York (JFK and Newark or EWR) flights followed by Chicago and San Francisco. United, the only other airline with nonstops between the two countries, is not altering flight frequency to India for now.

You can finally travel to Spain and France for that long overdue business trip or even for a holiday! Both countries now allow fully vaccinated Indians who have taken Covishield to travel without quarantine requirements. What’s more, all visa categories are open for processing from 2nd August including the C-type Schengen visa - those who already hold a valid C-type Schengen visa can pack their bags and fly out as soon as they desire.

For France, the measures applied to vaccinated adults extend to their accompanying minors, irrespective of whether they are vaccinated. In addition, all travellers need to present a sworn statement declaring that they do not have any COVID-19 symptoms and have not come in contact with anyone with an active case of COVID-19.

The VFS centre in Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Ahmedabad have started accepting applications from 2nd August for France and Spain visa is being processed only in Delhi at the moment through BLS International.

The UK government has announced an update to the 'Red-Amber-Green' traffic light ratings for arrivals into England. From Sunday 8th August, India will move from the ‘red’ to the ‘amber’ list.

UK only recognises vaccines administered in the UK, EMA and the USA for waiver of the 10 day quarantine period for fully vaccinated travellers. So unfortunately, Indians travelling to the UK will have to undergo the mandatory 10-day quarantine period even if they are fully vaccinated. The only difference is that they do not have to undergo institution quarantine and can quarantine at home / place of stay.

Here is a summary of travel protocols required before travelling to the UK and on arrival:

Before travel to UK:

• Take a COVID-19 test: You must have proof of a negative COVID-19 test to travel to England from abroad.
• Book and pay for day 2 and day 8 COVID-19 travel tests: to be taken after arrival in England You must book your tests before you travel and leave enough time for them to be delivered to your address in England.
• Complete a passenger locator form: You must complete a passenger locator form online before you arrive in the UK. You can submit the form any time in the 48 hours before you arrive in the UK. You’ll need to show your form when you check in to travel or board your plane to the UK. Please remember that the name on the form should match the name on your passport exactly. If there are any characters, including an initial, missing you will need to complete a new form.

On arrival in England:

• Quarantine at home or in the place you are staying for 10 days
• Take a COVID-19 test on or before day 2 and on or after day 8

You may be able to end quarantine early (on Day 5) if you pay for a private COVID-19 test through the UK Government’s Test to Release scheme.

Canada extended the ban on direct flights from India till 21st September ‘21 due to risks posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ban was first imposed on 22nd April and has already been rolled over several times. It is the fifth time the ban has been extended.

Billionaire investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala is putting together a crack team to launch a new ultra-low cost airline called Akasa Air. The airline has just received the No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Union Civil Aviation Ministry as well as the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to commence flight operations. Akasa Air flights will operate on domestic routes and is aiming to take off by the end of 2021.

Jhunjhunwala is considering investing US$35 million and would own 40 per cent of the carrier. He aims to have 70 aircraft operating in the Indian skies within four years from its launch.

The Indian government has decided to extend the suspension of scheduled international travel in the country by one more month. The aviation regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation has announced this in partial modification of the more-than-a-year long suspension order.

As per the latest circular from DGCA, restrictions for international commercial passenger services to and from India will remain suspended till 31st August, 2021. It also said that international scheduled flights may be allowed on selected routes by the competent authority on case-to-case basis and the ‘air bubble’ arrangement with select countries will continue. In addition, the restriction will not apply to international all-cargo operations flights that have been approved by DGCA.

Countries that have opened their doors to Indians for non-essential travel include Maldives, Switzerland, France, Spain, Russia, Ukraine, Qatar, Turkey, Iceland, Costa Rica & Nepal.