India To Create 'Green Corridor' To Allow International Flights From US & Europe; 'Travel Bubble' Likely To Ease Curbs

The statement by the Civil Aviation Ministry came after the US on Monday barred Air India from operating chartered flights from India without its prior approval.

Air passengers are likely to shell out the highest fares for domestic travel this fiscal with the ticket prices expected to spike 7-9 per cent during the period because of limited capacity additions since the grounding of Jet Airways, rating agency Crisil Research said on Wednesday.

New Delhi: After the United States barred India from operating chartered flights between India and the US, the MoCA India had said that they are considering prospects to establish connectivity on the lines of Vande Bharat Mission. After the announcement by the Aviation Ministry India is now likely to allow carriers from selected European countries and the United States to launch flight connectivity in and out of India in the lines of Vande Bharat mission. This will allow carriers to bring back stranded Indian passengers from and also fly out from Indian, providing options to the stranded passengers. ALSO READ|'Discriminatory', Alleges US Transport Dept As It Regulates Air India's Charter Flights Aviation Ministry on Tuesday announced that India is considering establishing "individual bilateral bubbles" with the US, the UK, Germany, and France allowing airlines of each country in the pact to operate international passenger flights. The individual bilateral bubbles certainly mean establishing a green corridor. India and the United States are working on a plan to create a travel corridor which will significantly ease travel restrictions between the two countries. This will be the first green corridor India will establish with any country. Besides the US, similar initiatives are being tried with European countries as well. Senior officials from New Delhi and Washington confirmed that the two countries were in the final stages of forming a “travel bubble”, which will completely remove or substantially relax the quarantine measures for flyers. What is a Green Corridor? A green corridor or Travel bubble is a bilateral agreement between two countries to expedite the travel process of travelers of both the countries amidst the travel restrictions due to COVID-19. Such corridors are being created where both countries have successfully curbed the growth of the virus. However, India and the US is planning to open the corridor before the cases become zero. ALSO READ|'Looking At Bilateral Bubbles Between Countries': India Responds To US Allegations Over Vande Bharat Experts said the green corridor would be a sign of gradual opening up of international travel. "Travel bubbles are a step forward and will help towards restarting international travel. The important thing is to ensure that the measures are aligned with international guidance so that the bubbles can be expanded to include other countries and restore global connectivity by air" according to the experts. While the scheduled international passenger flights have been suspended in India since March 25 due to the coronavirus pandemic, Air India started international chartered flights under Vande Bharat Mission from May 6 to help people stranded abroad to return home amid the pandemic. It has been operating chartered flights on Indo-US routes since May 18. Why did the US ban Indian chartered flights? The US accused India of “discriminatory practices” and violating fair trade practices during the Vande Bharat mission- the repatriation exercise being carried out by Air India. The US Department of Transport on Monday said that from July 23, Air India would have to seek prior approval before operating flights to the US. Air India is operating a schedule that is more than 50 percent of the pre-COVID level, the department said. “The charters go beyond true repatriations, and it appears that Air India may be using repatriation charters as a way of circumventing the flight restrictions imposed by India,” it said. It sought to restore a level-playing field for American Airlines under the US-India Air Transport Agreement. Due to restrictions imposed by the Indian government, foreign airlines were forced to operate empty one way. However, MoCA, said,"We have received requests from authorities in several countries including the US, France, Germany among others requesting that their air carriers be allowed to participate in the transportation of passengers along the line being conducted by Air India under Vande Bharat Mission. These requests are being examined." Also Watch|Ground report from India-Nepal border amid tension b/w two nations