2 out of 3 Indians want government to reconsider resuming international flights from December 15: Survey

On Friday, the Civil Aviation Ministry declared that scheduled international flights to and from India will resume from December 15. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, scheduled international flights were suspended in India since March 23, 2020. 

However, amid the new possibly vaccine-resistant COVID-19 variant Omicron - that WHO designated as "variant of concern" - several countries are again revising their travel guidelines and imposing restrictions. 

Now, according to a new survey done by LocalCircles, it has come to light that 64% of Indian citizens want the Centre to reconsider its decision about restarting international flights from December 15. The survey conducted by LocalCircles was conducted in 309 districts of the country and received more than 16,000 responses, While 66% of respondents were men, 34% of respondents were women. 49% of respondents were from tier 1, 33% from tier 2, and 2% respondents were from tier 3, 4, and rural districts.

2 out of 3 citizens want the Central government to reconsider their decision about restarting international flights. Meanwhile, 72% of Indian citizens want the government to implement mandatory RT-PCR tests for COVID-19 at boarding as well for international travellers coming from countries with high TPR (Test Positivity Rate). 

In the survey, LocalCircles asked citizens, "Given the new variant B.1.1.529 and a recent major increase in Covid cases in many countries around the world, what should be India’s approach towards travellers from these countries?" 

In response, 51% of citizens said, "Continue with current rules and permit them without quarantine but require an RT-PCR test within 24 hours before boarding and upon arrival." 

Other 21% of citizens said, "Permit travellers from these countries but implement RT-PCR at boarding and arrival and implement a 14-day mandatory quarantine."

Further, 14% said the government should "continue with current rules and permit travellers from these countries without quarantine", and 12% said, "temporarily suspend all existing flights from countries with TPR of 2% or higher." 

This question received 8,105 responses. 

In summary, the majority of the Indians want the government to reconsider the decision of resuming international flights. In light of the new COVID-19 variant Omicron, people of the country want the government to be extra cautious., especially after what India witnessed during the brutal second wave of COVID-19.