New Delhi: Amid the worst-hit sectors due to Coronavirus pandemic are aviation and travel industry. To deal with the financial crisis and get back on track, travel agent associations made a representation to the Civil Aviation Ministry to start allowing private operators to begin inbound and outbound international flights from India.

According to the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), flights under the Vande Bharat Mission or Air Bubbles are not enough because demand for flights is higher than the flights made available for the mission. If more flights are allowed to operate, the travel agents, airlines and travellers will have the opportunity to resume their activities, argued travel industry experts. It will also increase revenue and facilitate connectivity with areas that are not connected to India right now, they opined.

Commenting on it, secretary of Travel Agents Federation of India–Gujarat, Manish Sharma, said, “In Ahmedabad alone, there are 450 daily inquiries for travel to countries like US, Canada, London, African countries and Australia.”

If the government allows more flights to operate with adherence to Covid norms, it will help people who have been
waiting to travel for business, personal or medical reasons.

According to industry sources, TAAI officials had called Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and appealed to the launch of point-to-point scheduled flights between India and other countries under the Temporary Bilateral Arrangement (Air Bubbles).