Things To Consider Before You Choose Air Bubble Flight and Vande Bharat Mission Flight

An air bubble is a special bilateral agreement arranged between two countries to enable seamless travelling with scheduled flights and a set of regulations and restrictions. The countries agree to schedule flights that are specially approved by the countries. A handful of airlines and their scheduled flights can be found on travel websites or the travel logs of agents. You have the luxury of choosing from a list of airlines that fall in the said category. You can use any medium to book your flight tickets as long as the countries you wish to travel to fall in the air bubbles of India. So far, India has managed to form air bubbles with 18 countries. They are the US, the UK, Bhutan, Ukraine, Japan, Qatar, Germany, Kenya, Nigeria, the UAE, Iraq, Canada, Oman, France, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Bahrain and Maldives.

Vande Bharat Mission flights are very different from air bubbles. They do not have a recurring schedule and are special one-off or ad-hoc flights that have been arranged by the government for specific purposes. The flights are mainly operated by airlines such as Air India and Air India Express. A handful of other Indian carriers have also been allowed to fly as part of the Vande Bharat Mission. The VBM flights operate from time to time, depending on the requirement and bookings. Information concerning the flights is published on the official website of the airlines. Even the social media pages of airlines that are affiliated with the VBM flights are quite active and informational. Again, the flights can also be booked from direct and indirect channels such as other travel websites. However, it has been reported that the tickets often sell out on the direct channel (Air India's website and app) within minutes due to the high demand.

If you plan on taking air bubble flights, you would need to be an Indian citizen or a passport holder, Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) and foreign citizens with the ideal Indian visas that would allow them to fly to and fro from India. Air bubble flights cater to Indian as well as foreign passport holders. As long as you have the acceptable visa as announced by the Ministry of Home Affairs, you would be eligible to travel to and fro from India. You would not be required to showcase any extra added documents aside from the ones that have already been asked from the airlines.

As for travellers opting for the Vande Bharat Mission flights, you would require to be an Indian citizen or an Overseas Citizens of India cardholder. The VBM flights mainly cater to bring home Indian citizens who have been stuck in international terrains due to a global lockdown. VBM flights are mainly for Indian passport holders with acceptable visas. You would be asked to follow a set of steps to acquire your flight ticket and permission to fly back to the country. Following approval from the appointed Indian High Commission, you would be allowed to fly from one of the Vande Bharat Mission flights. For more details regarding the same, you can check out about the air bubble flights, the rules and regulations to be followed along with a list of required documents. Websites of VBM airlines also have details that would help you book your flight accordingly.

There are a few important restrictions concerning the people who can fly via air bubbles and Vande Bharat Mission flights. To understand more about the same, check out the points mentioned below.

1. If you are taking a VBM flight, your choices would be restricted to a handful of airlines that are affiliated with the government of India. Air India and Air India Express are the two airlines that are the frontrunners of VBM flights. You need to be eligible and approved to fly from the VBM flights though.

2. When it comes to air bubble flights, you are spoilt for choices. As long as you are travelling to and from one of the 18 countries with which India has formed bilateral arrangements, you can pick from a slew of airlines that are currently functioning on the said route and have been allowed by the government. There are no restrictions on foreign passport holders, and they are allowed to fly with a valid visa.

3. Although depending on your passport and country of origin, you are only allowed to travel from the airline of the said country, a few amendments in the rules have been made. This means that you would be allowed to travel from British Airways or Lufthansa from the United States to reach India, if the flights connecting are from London or Germany. It primarily depends on the connecting hubs and the route the flight is taking to reach India.

4. Restrictions for flights flying out of India would disallow Indian passport holders to fly from Lufthansa or Virgin Atlantic on connecting flights beyond the UK or EU. This is despite you bringing a legitimate ticket holder. Hence, you must read up more on the airline regulations and restrictions before booking your flight tickets.

5. The rule of connecting flights does not apply to foreign nationals. They would be allowed to travel beyond the airline hubs of connecting flights. For example, a foreign national can travel beyond the UK or the EU on a Lufthansa or Virgin Atlantic.

6. The idea of such complicated rules is to ensure that the travellers only choose to fly the "home" airline at the end of the bubble. In simpler words, the home destination should be travelled in the national or "home" airline to avoid international concerns. For example, for a traveller travelling from the United States to India should either travel by United or Air India and not a third airline belonging to a different country.

It is mandatory for travellers to fill out the Air Suvidha Self Reporting Form that can be found on the website of New Delhi Airport Be it an air bubble flight or a VBM flight that you take, the self rep[porting form needs to be filled and shared at least 72 hours before departure. You will receive an acknowledgement along with an approval to travel to the country within a few hours. Although the New Delhi Airport has taken up the responsibility of self-reporting declaration by travellers, the form is mandatory to be filled by all India arrivals. Be it Mumbai or Bangalore, your destination could be anywhere in the country, but the form from the New Delhi Airport's website needs to be filled and submitted within the time frame mentioned. The Ministry of Aviation has also made the form available on their website so you can check it out there.

A second form called Apply for Exemption is also available and required to be filled only if you are applying for an exemption from institutional quarantine. All Indians returning from other countries are required to follow a 14 days quarantine.

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