India pushing for air bubbles with five neighbouring countries

Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday said that India has proposed to establish bilateral air bubble arrangements with our neighbours to bring back stranded Indians under the Vande Bharat Mission. Under a bilateral air bubble pact, airlines of both the countries can operate international flights with certain restrictions.

However, the list of neighbouring countries does not include Pakistan. The list shared by Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri includes Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nepal and Bhutan.

Hardeep Singh Puri, who made the announcement on Twitter, said the government will consider such arrangements with other countries also. “It is always our endeavour to reach out to every stranded citizen. No Indian will be left behind,” the minister said.

Apart from the five neighbouring countries, the Indian government is also negotiating air bubble arrangments with 13 other countries, including Australia, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Nigeria, Bahrain, Israel, Kenya, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand.

“We continue to further strengthen the reach and scope of Vande Bharat Mission. Air travel arrangements are already in place with the US, UK, France, Germany, UAE, Qatar and Maldives. We are now taking these efforts forward & are negotiating with 13 more countries to establish such arrangements. The ongoing negotiations will benefit stranded Indians and nationals of these countries,” the civil aviation minister said.

Scheduled international passenger flights continue to remain suspended in India since March 23 due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, air travel between India and Pakistan has been on the rocks since Pulwama terror attack and subsequent Balakot air strike in February 2019.





Source link

Leave a comment