While commercial aviation is still closed in India, some steps are being taken to make it easier to arrive in India for the large number of people who are currently flying into the country on repatriation flights in India. Earlier this week, India notified new guidelines, which allow passengers to skip 7-day Institutional Quarantine and head straight into home quarantine.

As per new guidelines for international arrivals, which are going to come into effect on August 8, 2020, 0001 Hours IST, everyone flying into India will need to submit a self-declaration form to be hosted on www.newdelhiairport.in, at least 72 hours before starting travel. This self-declaration is about committing to 7-days paid institutional quarantine at their own cost, followed by 7-days home quarantine.

Get exemption from Institutional Quarantine

Till so far, there were no exemptions to quarantine procedures, and everyone had to get institutional quarantine before going home necessarily. However, now, travellers can seek a waiver by presenting a CoVid-19 negative test report. The guidelines say,

Travelers may also seek exemption from institutional quarantine by submitting a negative RTPCR test report on arrival. This test should have been conducted within 96 hrs prior to undertaking the journey. The test report should be uploaded on the portal for consideration. Each passenger shall also submit a declaration with respect to authenticity of the report and will be liable for criminal prosecution, if found otherwise. The test report could also be produced upon arrival at the point of entry airport in India.

You might still be Quarantined

Remember, these are just guidelines, and states eventually have to take a call on what works for them. So, there might be a situation where the state may decide to quarantine the person regardless of the Central Government exempting them. As the guidelines state,

States can develop their own protocol with regards to quarantine and isolation as per their assessment post arrival of passengers in the state concerned.

Bottomline

I think these steps are being put in place to gradually re-open international aviation. Remember, when the number of people travelling can’t be controlled, and hotels will need to go back to business rather than quarantine centres, it will be essential to find ways of segregating those who are infected from those who are not. This is not perfect, but a test within 96 hours of travel is the guideline many countries are following at the moment. UAE, for instance, comes to mind.  The perfect way will be to test on arrival and deliver a result in 24-48 hours; however, but I don’t see any steps being taken to that effect anytime soon.

What do you think of the new guidelines, and how well do you think will they be executed come August 8, 2020?

---

Liked our articles and our efforts? Please pay an amount you are comfortable with; an amount you believe is the fair price for the content you have consumed. Please enter an amount in the box below and click on the button to pay; you can use Netbanking, Debit/Credit Cards, UPI, QR codes, or any Wallet to pay. Every contribution helps cover the cost of the content generated for your benefit.

(Important: to receive confirmation and details of your transaction, please enter a valid email address in the pop-up form that will appear after you click the ‘Pay Now’ button. For international transactions, use Paypal to process the transaction.)

We are not putting our articles behind any paywall where you are asked to pay before you read an article. We are asking you to pay after you have read the article if you are satisfied with the quality and our efforts.