Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued Standard Operating Protocol (SOP) for foreign travels on non-scheduled commercial flights under Vande Bharat Scheme and Air Transport Bubble arrangement. Travellers need to register with Indian missions wherever they are residing by providing all necessary details prescribed by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
The SOP aims to curb the spread of Covid-19 infection within India and intends to check the movement of passengers coming from abroad in a calibrated manner.
Those coming to India under air bubble arrangements need not register themselves with Indian missions. India has travel arrangements under this scheme with countries like USA, UK, Germany, France, Qatar, Maldives and UAE, and negotiations are on with some 13 other countries. Vande Bharat flights have been operating since May and presently the Scheme is in Phase-5.
MEA will be preparing a flight/ship wise database inclusive of details such as name, age, gender, place of residence, mobile phone number, final destination, and information on RT-PCR test taken and its results. The ministry will share this in advance with respective states/union territories.
