Flying to India? New rules to be in force soon

Muscat: The Indian Government is making it easier for passengers travelling to the country to pre-book an RT-PCR test to be conducted on arrival. The new process will be in force soon.

The Union Ministry of Civil Aviation, in an internal office memorandum, said that the ‘Air Suvidha’ portal, used by travellers for documentation, would be modified to allow for mandatory pre-booking of tests for those travelling from countries considered ‘at risk’ or in case they have visited these countries in the past 14 days.

“Link to the concerned airport website would be provided on ‘Air Suvidha’ platform, which would be displayed to passengers while filling up the self declaration form,” the letter said.

To begin with, the system will be put in place in six metro cities, including New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.

“A lead time of a week to be provided… for convenience, the new system to come into effect on 20th December, (11.59 PM on 19th December),” the communication further said.

All airlines operating flights to India have been advised to check pre-booking status while on-boarding the passenger. “In case a passenger is having difficulty pre-booking, they may not be denied boarding, but it would be responsibility of the airlines to identify and accompany such passengers to the registration counter at the airport for testing,” the letter said.