India has now entered into an air bubble arrangement with Sri Lanka. This means, one more overseas destination has been added to the destinations where Indians can travel to.
The Aviation Ministry tweeted referring to this and stated, “India has finalised an air bubble agreement with Sri Lanka, making it the sixth such arrangement in SAARC region and 28th in total. All eligible passengers will be able to travel between the two countries in the near future.”
As of now, India has arrangements with around 27 countries, including the United States, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh, France, Canada, Iraq, Germany, Kenya, Japan, Nepal, the Netherlands, Oman, Nigeria, Qatar, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates.
With Sri Lanka reopening for travel, the Maldives will likely face competition in terms of attracting Indian tourists. As per the records, India has managed to emerge as the single largest inbound tourism source market for the Maldives during the COVID pandemic.
Further, Indians might also likely find another favourite neighbouring foreign destination soon for travel, i.eThailand.
Currently, regular international commercial flights are not operating, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. India recently extended the ban on international commercial flights till April 30, which might likely be extended further.
Further, special international passenger flights have been operating under the Vande Bharat Mission since May last year, and under bilateral air bubble arrangements since July.