India has announced an air bubble arrangement with Saudi Arabia which will facilitate eligible passengers to fly between India and Saudi Arabia.
According to a twitter post by the Indian Embassy in Riyadh, the air bubble arrangement between India and Saudi Arabia will come into effect starting from 1st January, 2022.
India’s scheduled international passenger flight operations are suspended until 31st January, 2022, thanks to the new variant of Coronavirus, Omicron.
Due to the outbreak of the new variant of Coronavirus, the regular scheduled flights remain suspended in India and amidst that ‘Transport Bubbles’ or ‘Air Travel Arrangements’ are established between two countries for restarting commercial passenger services.
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A glance at Air Bubble Arrangement with other countries:
As mentioned above, the air bubble arrangements or transport bubbles are established with the view of restarting commercial passenger services when regular international flights are suspended as a result of Covid-19 pandemic. These flight operations are reciprocal in nature, that means, the airlines from both the countries enjoy similar benefits. According to the official website of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, India has an air bubble agreement with 35 countries. These include: Afghanistan, Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Canada, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Iraq, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Maldives, Mauritius, Nepal, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Russia, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Tanzania, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates (UAE), United Kingdom (UK), United States of America (USA) and Uzbekistan.
Details of India’s ‘Transport Bubbles’ or ‘Air Travel Arrangements’ with different countries can be viewed at India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation website.
It is pertinent to note that passengers flying to Saudi Arabia from India can be nationals or residents of Saudi Arabia, or nationals of Nepal or Bhutan who hold a valid visa of Saudi Arabia.
Saud Arabia recognizes Covaxin for Travellers:
A good news for Indian travellers who have taken Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin; Saudi Arabia has approved India-made Covaxin Vaccine for travel. The Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia made the announcement on their twitter handle stating that Indian citizens who are vaccinated with homemade Covaxin can enter Saudi Arabia without any restrictions.
