India has signed an air bubble agreement with Nepal, Hardeep Singh Puri, minister of civil aviation, Government of India said in an official statement.
Following this, India now shares bilateral travel arrangements with 23 countries including Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Canada, Kenya, France, Germany, Iraq, Japan, Maldives, Netherlands, Oman, Qatar, UAE, UK, and the USA.
Embassy of India in Nepal tweeted, “Happy to inform that the two governments have approved the resumption of regular scheduled flights between Delhi and Kathmandu under air transport bubble mechanism. Air India and Nepal Airlines shall be operating these daily flights.”
Categories of passengers eligible to fly under the new air bubble include:
From India to Nepal:
- Indian nationals and nationals of Nepal. “It would be for the airlines concerned to ensure that there is no travel restriction for Indian nationals to enter Nepal before the issue of ticket/ boarding pass to the Indian passenger,” reads an official document by the civil aviation ministry.
- Third country nationals (including diplomats) holding valid visa/entry permit for Nepal.
From Nepal to India:
- Indian nationals and nationals of Nepal.
- All Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders and Person of Indian Origin cardholders holding passports of any country.
- All third country nationals (including diplomats) intending to travel to India for any purpose (including their dependents on the appropriate category of dependent visa) except those on a tourist visa.
Only such passengers who are destined for Nepal are allowed to travel on flights from India to Nepal. Likewise, only passengers originating in Nepal are allowed to travel on flights from Nepal to India.
