India is stepping towards opening international air travel and will permit airlines from France and Germany to operate a fixed number of flights to the country.
According to Hardeep Singh Puri, there will be daily service between New York and Delhi, while three flights a week to San Francisco and Delhi. Puri said that India is working on a plan of bilateral air bubble with Britain. Under this, two flights will be run daily between Delhi and London.
Air France will be operating 28 flights between Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Paris from July 18 to Aug. 1, the minister said at a press conference. American carrier United Airlines will be flying 18 flights between India and the U.S. from July 17 to July 31.
Air bubbles are exclusive travel corridors established between two countries desiring to reopen their borders to each other. It’s a mutual concept; so, both sides (departure/arrival points) must be on board.
These operations, are being allowed with certain conditions because many countries are imposing entry restrictions even now, including India in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic.
The average one-way VBM economy fare on US/Canada flights used to be about Rs 1 lakh. “We reduced that by 25% to Rs 75,000. We will bring the fares further down. Similarly fares for VBM flights on Europe and UK routes will also drop,” said Air India Chairman, Rajiv Bansal.
