Days after the Indian government said it would continue to suspend scheduled international flights to and from India until further notice, an about-turn decision has been made to reinstate international air access from March 27.
The decision is welcomed by India’s hospitality stakeholders who have been pleading with the government to resume scheduled international flight operations in the country.
Gaurav Bhatia, executive director, Bird Group, said: “The announcement to resume scheduled international passenger services comes at the right time. The pandemic situation has improved in India as well as globally.”
He expects the resumption of international flights to positively impact India’s aviation companies as well as hotels, and to benefit travellers who have had to deal with pricey airfares due to scarce capacity.
However, Ajay Prakash, president, Travel Agents Federation of India, warned that the Indian rupee’s significant depreciation would make overseas travel more expensive and shape outbound demand.
“Hopefully, the air capacity increase can bring down international airfares to more realistic levels to even things out,” he said, adding that there is “tremendous pent-up demand” for travel among Indian residents.
