India, Nepal to start air bubble arrangement

New Delhi, Dec 10 (UNI) India and Nepal have decided to open flights under a bilateral bubble arrangement for restarting commercial flights, after months of disruption caused by the global pandemic of COVID-19.

India has such arrangement with over 20 countries, including Japan, Ethiopia, Maldives, Tanzania, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Oman, the US, Canada, France and Germany, among others.

‘We had proposed the arrangement, which was cleared after the recent visit of Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla to Kathmandu,’ a source in the government establishment said on Thursday.

‘Initially, we are starting with one flight daily from each side between Delhi and Kathmandu. From the Indian side, it will be Air India, which in normal times, had a daily flight between Delhi and Kathmandu,’ he added.

‘We are starting with Indians, Nepalese, OCI/PIO card holders of all nationalities and all valid Indian visa holders (except tourist visa),’ said the source.

Air bubble arrangement will follow medical protocols, as is being done with other countries, which includes RT PCR test report of 72 hours prior to travel.

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