India-Nepal air travel corridor gets go-ahead, first flight to take off soon

The India-Nepal air travel corridor has been given a formal go-ahead and will see the first flight in the next seven to 10 days. India now has an air bubble (corridor) agreement with 23 countries globally. The corridor will have one flight daily each from Delhi to Kathmandu and from India's side, it will be Air India. 

Air bubbles are an arrangement that has come amid the COVID-19 pandemic impacting global air transport. Within South Asia, India already has an air bubble agreement with Afghanistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and the Maldives, with Nepal being the latest entrant.

New Delhi had proposed the corridor to Nepal, and with the visit of the Indian foreign secretary Harsh Shringla to Kathmandu, its approval got further impetus. Sources said that during his visit in connection with the corridor, Shringla highlighted the "importance of people to people connectivity for our special relations with Nepal."

Under the travel corridor, Indians, Nepalese, OCI/PIO cardholders of all nationalities, and all valid Indian visa holders will be allowed. This will not include tourist visas. The arrangement will follow medical protocols that have been placed for everyone using these corridors and include an RT-PCR test report of 72 hours prior to travel.

Global air travel came to a grinding halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Aimed at restarting commercial passenger services, the transport bubbles are reciprocal in nature, and airlines from both countries enjoy similar benefits.