India's Ministry of Civil Aviation on Friday announced creation of air bubble with Qatar from August 18 to 31 for flights to and from either side, as agreed by the Civil Aviation Authority of Qatar.
Instructions in this regard have been issued in a letter by the ministry's under secretary Anup Pant to Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) Amit Gupta and Indian carriers.
"DGCA may clear the flights of Qatar Airways and Indian carriers on a weekly basis in an equitable manner (based on comparable number of seats) provided they submit clearances from the concerned State Government and the Indian Mission in Qatar along with application for the flights," the letter explains.
"The flights from Qatar to India will carry the following passengers: Indian nationals stranded in Qatar; all Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders holding Qatari passports, and Qatari nationals (including diplomats) holding valid visa issued by an Indian Mission in any category covered under Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) guidelines dated 30.06.2020.
"The flights from India to Qatar will carry the following passengers: Qatari nationals; any Indian national holding any type of valid Qatar visa and destined for Qatar only.
"It would be for the airlines concerned to ensure there is no travel restriction for Indian nationals to enter Qatar with the particular visa category before issue of ticket/boarding pass to the Indian passenger.
"Traffic carried from India to Qatar will comprise of passengers destined for Qatar only.
"The designated airlines of both sides will be permitted to sell tickets between India and Qatar in each direction through their websites, sales agents and Global Distribution Systems.
"The operations will be subject to strict adherence to the SOP issued by the Ministry of Civil Aviation on 26.05.2020 and other Covid-19 related guidelines issued by the MHA and MoH&FW."
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