Covid-19 has been harsh and cruel to everyone. It has caused some severe damage to the economy and educational system of the country. Many people lost their means of livelihood. With schools closing, education was also hampered.
There was a large scale of unemployment. And the country was under lockdown for almost a year. Many students wished to go abroad for higher studies, but due to this pandemic, they couldn’t go because all the international flights were banned.
If you are looking for cheap flights to India, then there is surely good news for you! Air India used to operate 40 flights a week to the U.S. before the pandemic. But in May 2020, the U.S government banned Indian travelers because of the rise in Covid-19 cases.
Then later in 2020, when the first wave came to an end, and there was a dip in the cases, India and The United States made a travel bubble agreement according to which essential flights between the two countries started functioning.
The number of flights running between India and the USA was 11, which caused great problems to a student planning to go abroad for their flights were randomly rescheduled. After the end of the second wave, the U.S universities started their fall semesters, which caused tension among students as their studies were being hampered.
So, they tweeted and complained about the problems caused due to the rescheduling of flights and demanded more flights to function. On 31st of July 2021, Air India announced increasing the flight frequency to The U.S. by the first week of August to 21 flights a week. This announcement was a melody to students’ ears. Air India mentioned running additional flights on August 6, 13, 20, 27 between New Delhi and Newark.
The travel restrictions set by the U.S resulted in fewer travel options for students and an increase in the price of the tickets. This also led to a decrease in flight frequency. But after the new announcement, the ticket price deflated, resulting in cheap flights to India and the U.S.A.
With decreasing Covid-19 cases, India also formed the air bubble pact with 28 other countries, including UK, Japan, Canada, Bhutan, etc. On the 4th of May, The United States banned the entry of non-immigrants and only allowed those under the presidential proclamation, that is, immigrants, permanent residents, students with F-1 or M-1 visas.
However, after recognizing the improving situation, The United States lowered the travel restrictions from level 4 to level 3. But India extended the ban until 31st August. In a recently held press conference, IATA’S Director-General, Willie Walsh, asked the Indian government to remove the ban.
The situation has improved immensely and with proper rules and safety precautions, flights should be started again. He also stated that there is an opportunity for faster recovery of India’s aviation industry if the ban is removed.
The advantage to Travelers:
With the increase in the frequency of flights to India, it is obvious that the flights will become cheaper, which is like a big relief to the travelers. Earlier due to the whole COVID-19 pandemic it became really difficult for people to travel not just due to the restrictions but due to the costs as well.