Passengers can now fly to Kenya, Bhutan through 'air bubbles' arrangements, says Civil Aviation Minister

Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Wednesday said that  Air Bubble arrangements are now in place with Kenya & Bhutan.

"In order to further boost bilateral international air connectivity, Air Bubble arrangements are now in place with Kenya & Bhutan. Indian carriers will be able to operate to these countries. Carriers of these countries will be able to fly to India," Puri said.

It is to be noted that the flights which have resumed for now are not the normal and regular scheduled flights that were shut down in March earlier this year. These are all special flights allowed to operate under special guidelines. The flyers will have to abide by the rules and regulations of the destination country. Hence, the resumption of the international is not for vacations.

The deal for international 'air bubbles' has been signed with countries like Maldives, US, UK, Germany, Canada, UAE, France.

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, International air travel has been hit hard and counties like India have been focusing on the creation of air bubbles for safer travel and before normal air travel resumes.

India had suspended all international flights in March before it imposed a nationwide lockdown to check the spread of coronavirus.

India has also been operating special flights under the Vande Bharat Mission to repatriate Indian citizens stuck across various countries.