Covid-19: India issues fresh guidelines for incoming air travellers

India has issued fresh guidelines for incoming international air travellers amid spread of mutant variants of coronavirus in many countries.

The new Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) prepared by the Civil Aviation Ministry in consultation with the Indian health ministry, will come into effect from midnight of February 21, which will continue till further order, according to an official statement issued late on Wednesday night.

The fresh SoP was issued two days after India confirmed the presence of four persons with the faster-spreading South African variant of Covid-19 and one person with the Brazilian strain -- all of whom and their contacts have been traced and quarantined.

There are fresh guidelines for all international travellers coming/transiting through flights originating from the United Kingdom, Europe and the Middle East, reports our New Delhi correspondent

India has suspended international scheduled flights till February 28. Overseas flights to and from India are currently operated as per air bubble agreements with different countries.

As part of the new set of guidelines, all international travellers -- except the ones coming through flights originating from the UK, Europe and the Middle East -- will have to submit self-declaration form on Air Suvidha portal before their scheduled travel.

They will also have to upload a negative Covid-19 RT-PCR report with the exception of those traveling to India in the exigency of death in the family.

For seeking exemption, the travelling entity will have to apply to the online portal www.newdelhiairport.in at least 72 hours before boarding.

The Covid-19 test should have been conducted within 72 hours prior to the journey and each passenger will also have to submit a declaration with respect to the authenticity of the report, as per the new guidelines.

At the time of boarding the flight, only asymptomatic travellers will be allowed to board after thermal screening.

International travellers arriving through seaports/land ports will also have to undergo the same protocol, except that the facility for online registration is not available for such passengers currently, as per the Civil Aviation Ministry guidelines.

All such clauses shall be applicable to travellers coming/transiting from flights originating in the UK, Europe and the Middle East except for clauses on testing, quarantine and isolation, the ministry stated.

Keeping in mind the testing requirements for passengers from the UK, Brazil and South Africa, who have to take connecting flights, airlines should keep the passengers informed about the need for transit time of a minimum 6-8 hours at the entry airport (in India) while booking the tickets for connecting flights, as per the guidelines.

Airlines should identify the international travellers arriving from/transiting through the United Kingdom, Brazil and South Africa (during past 14 days) and segregate them in-flight or while disembarking to facilitate the authorities to follow the due protocol in respect of these travellers, it stated.

For international travellers on short stay (of less than 14 days) and who have tested negative and remain symptom free, would have to undergo all the procedures and will be permitted to leave India under proper intimation to their district/state health authorities, subject to them fulfilling the requirement of the airlines and destination country, as per the fresh guidelines.