New Guidelines for Travelers Flying to India From Abroad: SOPs Will Come into Effect from February 22

The Union Health Minister, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, had recently issued new guidelines for those travellers who are flying to India from abroad in the middle of the high-rise pandemic in many countries. These guidelines are mainly for those travelers who are arriving from the United Kingdom, Europe, and the Middle East. It has been said by the health ministry that the new Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) will come into effect from 23:59 hours on February 22 till further orders.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation mentioned in its latest tweet “Attention Travelers! To reduce the risk of importation of mutant strains of SARS-CoV-2, SOPs for International Passengers arriving in India have been updated. Make sure you take all the necessary precautions and follow all the guidelines while traveling.”

Attention Travellers!

To reduce the risk of importation of mutant strains of SARS-CoV-2, SOPs for International Passengers arriving in India have been updated. Make sure you take all the necessary precautions and follow all the guidelines while travelling. pic.twitter.com/YzvIzDHabf

— MoCA_GoI (@MoCA_GoI) February 21, 2021

Guidelines for travelers flying to India from abroad

1. It is mandatory for all international travelers to submit SDF (self-declaration) for COVID-19 before their scheduled travel on the Air Suvidha portal.
2. The travelers need to upload an original copy of their negative COVID-19 RT-PCR report on www.newdelhiairport.in.
3. The test should have been conducted 72 hours before the journey and submitting a declaration along with the report is also mandatory for the passenger.
4. It is obvious that only asymptomatic passengers will be allowed to board the plane after their screening tests. Anyone found symptomatic of any disease or virus will not be allowed to travel in a plane.
5. Those who are planning to travel through seaports/land ports will also have to undergo the same protocol, but there is a slight difference, and that is, there is no facility for online registration for such passengers currently, as per the civil aviation ministry guidelines.
6. It is the duty of airlines to identify travelers arriving from the United Kingdom, Europe, and South Africa and segregate them in flight.
7. All the travelers arriving from the United Kingdom, Europe, or the Middle East have to pay for the molecular test by themselves which is mandatory at the Indian airports
8. All travelers arriving from Europe and the Middle East have to give samples at the designated area on the airports and after submitting, they can exit the airport. If the test result comes out to be negative then they will be advised to self-monitor their health for 14 days, and if the test comes out to be positive then they have to undergo treatment as per standard health protocol.

These are the necessary guidelines that all international travelers have to follow whenever they are going to arrive in India for their own and other people’s safety too. No relaxation will be allowed for this as it a matter of the pandemic, so it will be better for you if you follow these guidelines.