India In Talks With 13 Countries To Establish Bilateral Air Bubble; Pakistan, China Not In List

India is in talks with 13 countries to resume scheduled flight operations, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Hardeep Puri said on Tuesday.

“We continue to further strengthen the reach & scope of VBM (Vande Bharat Mission). Air Travel arrangements are already in place with USA, UK, France, Germany, UAE, Qatar & Maldives. We are now taking these efforts forward & are negotiating with 13 more countries to establish such arrangements,” Puri tweeted.

Travel bubble is a bilateral agreement between two countries to expedite the travel process of travelers of both the countries amidst the travel restrictions due to COVID-19. Such corridors are being created where both countries have successfully curbed the growth of the virus.

“These 13 countries include Australia, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Nigeria, Bahrain, Israel, Kenya, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea & Thailand,” he added.

Puri said air bubbles have also been proposed with our neighbours Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nepal and Bhutan. However, the list of neighbouring countries does not include Pakistan.