After domestic travel faced a dip in April-May due to the second COVID wave in the country, things have finally started looking up in June, thanks to India conducting the world’s largest vaccination drive for all citizens above the age of 18.
As per the latest report shared by the Union Health Ministry, India’s cumulative vaccine coverage has crossed the 30 crore mark.
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Book FlightsAs the daily caseload goes down and the vaccination count goes up, Indian states are now slowly starting to ease up their travel restrictions. Along with this, budget carriers IndiGo and SpiceJet are also launching new flights as passenger demand has started to record a steady increase.
Here are today’s top updates:
1. No RT-PCR required for flying to Delhi
IndiGo Airlines recently shared an update that is sure to bring a huge relief to travellers. The national capital of Delhi is no longer requiring domestic travellers from any state or union territory to bring a negative RT-PCR test report:
Delhi travellers, please take note! Know more https://t.co/QYTdm8kgQU #LetIndiGo #Aviation #Guidelines pic.twitter.com/qfPeqLH1kE
— IndiGo (@IndiGo6E) June 20, 2021
However, since travel policies are subject to change on short notice, it is best to reconfirm the state guidelines with your airline before flying.
2. Himachal Pradesh removes e-pass requirement – and gets new SpiceJet flights
A few days after removing the requirement of a negative RT-PCR report, the Himachal Pradesh government has now announced that travellers visiting the hill state from July 1 will no longer be required to bring an e-pass, essentially allowing tourists to plan a (much-needed) trip to the mountains.
The state receives a high tourist footfall in the summer-monsoon months of June and July.
To facilitate ease of travel to Himachal from the northern region, SpiceJet has also announced the resumption of its flights between Dharamsala and New Delhi. The two pairs of flights, which are now available on ixigo, will operate on a daily basis and have already begun operations. Check the flight schedule below:
See Also: Insider’s Guide to Dharamsala
3. IndiGo to commence new flights from Darbhanga in July
Budget carrier IndiGo has announced that it will be starting new direct flights from Darbhanga Airport in Bihar to two major Indian cities: Hyderabad and Kolkata.
As per IndiGo, flights on both the Kolkata – Darbhanga route as well as the Hyderabad – Darbhanga route will be operated on a daily basis.
Flights on both these routes will begin operations from July 5 and booking is now open on ixigo.
As per the schedule released by the airline, flight 6E 6921 will depart from Darbhanga at 02:55 pm and arrive in Kolkata at 04:10 pm. On the other hand, flight 6E 6919 will depart from Kolkata at 01:10 pm and arrive in Darbhanga at 02:25 pm.
On the Darbhanga-Hyderabad route, the IndiGo flight 6E 6924 from Darbhanga will depart at 12:45 pm and arrive in Hyderabad at 14:45 pm, while flight 6E 6923 will depart from Hyderabad at 10:15 am and arrive in Darbhanga by 12:15 pm.
4. AirAsia India operates nine flights with fully vaccinated crew
AirAsia India recently operated nine flights with fully vaccinated crew (including cabin crew and pilots). The sectors covered by these nine flights were Chennai-Guwahati, Bengaluru-Kolkata, Bengaluru-Chennai, Kolkata-Bengaluru, Guwahati-Bengaluru, Bengaluru-Pune, Jaipur-Pune, Pune-Bengaluru and Pune-Jaipur.
The airline has been conducting free vaccination drives for all its eligible staff and recently announced that 99.5% of its guest-facing operational staff including Pilots, Cabin Crew, Security, Ground Staff, and Catering Operations had been inoculated with their first doses:
Today, we operated flights with fully #vaccinated crews on sectors including, Bengaluru–Kolkata, Chennai–Guwahati and Pune–Jaipur, paving the path to safe travels! We have also inoculated 99.5% of our guest-facing staff, including security & ground staff with their first doses. pic.twitter.com/Hbcnwh0xEd
— AirAsia India (@AirAsiaIndia) June 18, 2021
While things have started to slowly but surely look up, it is important to continue taking all precautions against the pandemic and getting vaccinated as soon as possible. Keep following ixigo for more useful travel information!
