Passengers will be able to fly between India and Saudi Arabia, under the new air travel bubble agreement soon. The Indian Embassy in Riyadh has said that this agreement will come into effect starting January 1, 2022. Traffic carried to/from India shall comprise of passengers originating from/destined to Saudi Arabia only, and similarly, traffic carried to/from Saudi Arabia shall comprise of passengers originating from/destined to India only. Air travel bubbles are temporary arrangements between two countries aimed at restarting commercial passenger services when regular international flights are suspended as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Saudi Arabia is the 34th country to have an air travel bubble agreement with India. India’s scheduled international passenger flight operations are suspended until January 31, 2022. Out of the ten countries that the Indian government had proposals for air travel bubble agreement, two have already been confirmed, and these are Saudi Arabia, and Australia. The major countries to follow the suit are New Zealand, South Korea, Italy, Israel, the Philippines, Thailand, Switzerland. Fortunately, Saudi Arabia had recognised India’s Covaxin as a COVID-19 vaccine just last week. So this is a good news for Indian travellers who have taken this vaccine.
