Bhutan and India resume “air bubble” flights

Bhutan’s Drukair (KB, Paro) has announced it will be operating several weekly flights to India under a special “air travel bubble” agreement between the two countries. The Paro-based airline announced it would operate flights every second Friday to Bagdogra on October 15 and 29; November 12 and 26; and December 10 and 24, 2020. Drukair had operated its first flight to Bagdogra under this arrangement on October 1, 2020, the Bhutan government confirmed in a separate statement. Weekly flights from Paro to Kolkata Int’l would start on October 16 and operate every Friday after that; while weekly services to Delhi Int’l would begin on October 19 and operate every Monday. Services to Guwahati would operate every second Thursday on October 22, November 5 and 19; and December 3, 17 and 31, 2020. Bhutan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the two countries agreed the “air travel bubble” arrangement on September 18, 2020, to enable flight operations between the two countries until regular international flights between the two countries could resume. The government said Bhutan Airlines (B3, Paro) also intended to begin operations shortly. Flight bookings on the company website currently remain closed. India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation in a statement confirmed the arrangement with Bhutan, saying all Indian and Bhutanese carriers were now permitted to operate services between the two countries. It said India now had air bubble arrangements with 16 countries, including the US, UK, Germany, France, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bhutan, Kenya, Canada, Iraq, Japan, the Maldives, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. India’s Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri tweeted the move was aimed at boosting bilateral international air connectivity and assisting stranded Indians in these countries. Meanwhile, travellers between India and Bhutan will be subject to mandatory quarantine and other COVID-19 related health protocols, including a 21-day mandatory facility quarantine enforced on arrival to Bhutan.