(a) whether the Government has entered into agreement with any agency to make air travel easier and if so, the details thereof including need for such agreement;
(b) whether the Government has renegotiated the general air service agreements with other countries and if so, the details thereof; and
(c) the number of flights/operations which have been operationalised under the special or renegotiated air service agreements along with the details thereof?
The Minister of State (IC) in the Ministry of CIVIL AVIATION
(Shri Hardeep Singh Puri)
(a) Due to COVID-19 pandemic, there are restrictions on operation of scheduled commercial passenger flights to/from India. However, India has formalized air bubble arrangements with 27 countries as on 01.03.2021. These air bubble arrangements provide access directly or through transit facility to more than 100 countries. The names of countries with which air bubble arrangements have been formalized are at Annexure.;
(b) The air bubble arrangements are temporary arrangements and do not involve renegotiation of existing air service arrangements with other countries.;
(c) As per information provided by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), till 28.02.2021, a total of around 19,000 inbound flights (inclusive of air bubble flights) have brought passengers to India. Out of this total, more than 9,000 flights have been operated by Air India Group while the remaining have been operated by private Indian carriers and foreign carriers.