Srinagar: The first flight from India under “air bubble” arrangement is set to take off to Washington from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) at 1:15 am, on Wednesday.
Another flight, on the same day, will also be the first one to land at the IGIA from Washington under the newly announced bilateral arrangement, a report published by Hindustan Times read.
On July 16, India’s Union civil aviation Minister Hardeep Puri had announced that Air France and United Airlines of the US will operate a limited number of international flights under “air bubble” arrangements with India.
The report added that in order to reopen their borders, the bilateral air bubble refers to a travel corridor between the two countries and to ‘re-establish’ connections among two countries.
“Flights under the air bubbles initiative will be first of its kind which anyone willing to fly to destinations covered under the agreement can avail as per the laid-down procedures,” the report anonymously quoted an official from India’s civil aviation ministry.
Under the new arrangement, the report also mentioned that Air France will operate 28 flights between Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Paris from July 22 till August 1; while America’s United Airlines will operate 18 flights between Delhi, Mumbai, Newark and San Francisco from July 22 until July 31.
Only deportation or rescue flights for Indians stranded overseas have operated from India to international destinations, pertaining to the Indian air space being closed in March to prevent the spread of the COVID pandemic.
International flights to and from India have been suspended since March 23 as the coronavirus pandemic spread across the world. Limited domestic flights have resumed since.
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