Obruni Boy

After a little delay I have managed to obtain a new employment visa from the London High Commission. The company that wants me asked their Mumbai travel agency on Friday about a ticket and was told "there are no commercial flights till October". This sounds to me totally wrong as many overseas airlines are flying 3 times a week as well as AI.

Is there anything to stop me going on an AI or other airline flight at the present time. As I understand things if you manage to get a new visa you are good to go despite being a foreigner. Secondly if possible does anyone have a link to what the quarantine requirements are for different states, or at least for Delhi and Mumbai, considering I would have to stay in a hotel.

TravellingMan

You are right. One can fly into India with a work visa. I have a friend from Turkey who had a work visa and was able to fly into New Delhi via Lufthansa (daily flights). Except he was hassled at immigration and elsewhere until each one made phone call(s) to get clarifications from their supervisors. So gird up for that.

The quarantine requirements are well defined on the New Delhi airport website. Key thing is to get a COVID Swab test done 96 hrs before departure and you are good for 14 day "home/hotel" quarantine. Everything else can be done after arrival in India if you did not get it done online earlier except for the COVID test. No COVID test and you are headed to automatic quarantine.

The below thread has good information on what to expect upon landing.
NYC to India (Assam) trip log

Keyser

there are no scheduled commercial flights till 30th september....the government ban of regular scheduled flights keeps getting extended every month....but ai is operating flights under the vande bharat scheme & many other airlines are flying to & from india thanks to various 'travel bubble' arrangements with different countries....

Keyser

not entirely true....a few days ago delhi airport started its on arrival covid testing facility....passengers have the option to get their covid 19 test done after they land & wait for the results before they will be allowed to leave....the results will take up to 6 hours & you can wait in the lounge area....the whole thing will cost inr 5k....

https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/na...s-5-000-140269

https://www.hindustantimes.com/video...nKFM3K5jM.html

Obruni Boy

Have you heard of any reason to think that a non OCI person would be denied boarding on a "Vande Bharat" travel bubble flight accepting that there may be phone calls required at check in.

Keyser

last i heard, if you are booking directly with air india then you have to fill in some forms before you can purchase your ticket....your travel eligibility will be determined by those forms....if it allows you to book then you are eligible to travel....

oliver2002

If you have a recent visa issued by an Indian Mission you are good to go to India.

https://boi.gov.in/content/advisory-...ted-covid-19-1

The only thing you need to navigate is the quarantine requirements. If you don't do anything, the authorities will stick you into a so called 'institutional' facility for atleast 7 days. If you make advance arrangements, this facility can be one of the nicer airport hotels in and around BOM/DEL.

If you go thru all the required hoops (like getting a covid19 PCR test done 3-4 days before departure and submitting the paper work to a website for advance clearance) you can leave the airport and do whatever you like on arrival.

The DEL and BOM airports have detailled websites describing the required procedures to achieve that:

BOM: https://csmia.aero/covid-faqs.aspx
DEL: https://www.newdelhiairport.in/covid19

The arrival clearance process is the same for all airports: https://www.newdelhiairport.in/airsuvidha/allairports

Under the 'air bubble' (farce) agreements the airlines operating under the flag of the UK, France and Germany are allowed to bring any foreigner with a valid visa: https://www.civilaviation.gov.in/en/...nsport-bubbles (curiously UAE and Qatar are only allowed to bring in their respective citizens, killing all transit traffic)

So you are free to purchase a regular ticket on BA/AF/LH to come to BOM/DEL, I would advise skipping the AI VB option as that is pure money grab by AI.

Obruni Boy

Thank you Oliver2002 and all for your responses. Very useful.

TravellingMan

Ha ha ha. I could see them pull a fast one at the last minute; our testing facilities are closed today for technical reasons. So only those who have COVID results can get past...

Also not sure of false COVID positives that can be resolved with the right "handshakes". Call me jaded but I went through the wringer last week with inane requirements and spent couple of hours getting past slimy bureaucrats at the final destination. Compared to that entry into US is a breeze, especially with Global Entry. I was home in no time upon arrival.

TravellingMan

Dont take the VB flights. The loads much lower on other carriers.

Even if you do not get the advance clearance, you can still use the PCR test result to leave the terminal at the last step.

oliver2002

The website for said 'facility' is now online. You don't wait for the test results, you are literally confined into the PP lounge for 4-6 hours till the result is available and only let go if you test negative.

https://www.newdelhiairport.in/covid...ntment-booking

The system is only for intl-domestic and domestic transit so far, so atleast you don't get stuck there on arrival: