IATA welcomes the opening of India to international travel without quarantine from 14 March. We urge that this development be followed swiftly by the normalization of scheduled international flights to and from India and the discontinuation of India’s air travel bubbles. The resumption of scheduled flights was paused due to the Omicron variant wave and it is now time to move forward and normalize international air services. This will support the recovery of the aviation and travel sectors, the economy as a whole, and satisfy the demand for travel.
The Asia Pacific region has seen the most stringent of measures since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, but recently we are starting to see the beginning of a tide of change – for example in Thailand, the Philippines, and Australia. We urge other Asia Pacific governments to follow this reopening momentum and ease their travel restrictions. It’s been two years, and we know a lot more about COVID-19. It is time to follow what the science is telling us about the disease, its transmission, and that extreme border measures are no longer effective in keeping the virus out.
