Indian airlines such as Air India and Indigo have resumed flights between India and the United Arab Emirates after the UAE authorities issued a new travel protocol, accepting travellers from India who comply with the prescribed regulations.
Kochi international airport has started flights to the UAE from August 5. The first flight by Air India Express from Cochin landed in Dubai at 10:09 am and flew passengers from Kozhikode and Mumbai.
An Indigo flight from Kolkata, India, landed in Dubai at 10:32 am, flight tracking website Flighttrader24 indicated.
Indigo is also operating Dubai-bound flights from Tiruchirappalli, Mumbai, Cochin, and Lucknow.
An Air Arabia flight departed for Sharjah with 69 passengers on board at 3:50 am. Emirates, on the other hand, flew 99 passengers to Dubai that departed at 10:30 am.
At least seven Emirates flights have arrived in Dubai from cities like Trivandrum, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Cochin, Bengaluru and New Delhi. However, Etihad airways have not announced a schedule yet.
As per the relaxation norms, Indians with valid residency visas and who received both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine in the UAE are among the new categories allowed to travel to the West Asian country since August 5. The guidelines also clarified that the travellers must have received the second vaccine dose at least 14 days before travelling and hold a vaccination certificate. The travellers must produce a negative RT-PCR test report within 48 hours of their travel. Additionally, they also have to undergo another PCR test at the departure airport.
Amid the resumption of flights between India and the UAE, flight fares are witnessing a rise.
While the cost of a flight between New Delhi and Dubai ranges from Dh800 up to Dh1,040, a flight from Mumbai costs up to Dh2,146. Travelling from Kochi to Dubai can cost a passenger at least Dh1,034.
The fare of a flight between India and the UAE generally fluctuates between Dh300 and Dh500.
