India may restart scheduled international flights soon

India is planning to reopen international borders for scheduled flights soon. Arvind Singh, the Tourism Secretary of India, spoke to ET TravelWorld at an event that was organised by the Ministry of Tourism in Delhi, and said that the mood in the government is in favour of reopening of international borders. India, much like the rest of the world, has closed its borders since the pandemic hit last year.
According to Singh, the Minister of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Civil Aviation have been having extensive consultations regarding restarting international scheduled flights in the near future. The good news is that everyone is in agreement on reopening of borders, and restarting scheduled flights. As of now, India has air bubbles with other countries.

India has an air bubble arrangement with 18 countries, and 49 cities as of September. Special international flights are operating with proper COVID protocols.
Now, it is only a matter of time before a date is announced for restarting the scheduled flights. It is also important to have a set of protocols in place, in tune with the COVID pandemic. The protocols shall be decided by the Home Ministry, and the Civil Aviation Ministry.

With the opening of borders, and the scheduled international flights, the tourism and hospitality industry in the country can look forward to returning to better days. However, international tourists may be skeptical to travel yet, and that has to change through systematic campaigns, and more.