IATA urges Centre to reopen international air routes

Global airline body wants air bubbles to be discontinued

Global airline body IATA on Monday urged the Centre for “swift normalisation” of international flight operations and called for discontinuation of air travel bubbles.

The plea came on a day when the health ministry’s revised guidelines for international travellers kicked in, allowing passengers quarantine-free entry into the country besides dispensing with the need for on-arrival RT-PCR tests.

“IATA [International Air Transport Association] welcomes the opening of India to international travel without quarantine from today. We urge that this development be followed swiftly by the normalisation of scheduled international flights to and from India, and the discontinuation of India’s air travel bubbles, “ said Philip Goh, IATA’s regional VP for Asia Pacific. ”The resumption of scheduled flights was paused due to the Omicron variant wave and it is now time to move forward and normalise international air services,” he added.