Srinagar, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Gwalior, and Jabalpur have announced changes in their domestic guidelines for flight passengers, while Meghalaya has taken the welcome step of opening its doors for tourism from tomorrow.
Along with this, the Union government has issued an advisory about easing travel restrictions across states. You can know more about it at the end of this story.
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Kindly note: Travel guidelines are dynamic and subject to change. Please confirm these updates with your airlines/local authorities before making a booking.
Here’s all the news:
New travel rules for 5 destinations
IndiGo has shared updates about travel requirements for these popular destinations:
1. Passengers travelling to Srinagar can be exempted from on-arrival testing if they are carrying a negative RT-PCR report with sample collection done within 48 hours of arrival. Those without the report will have to undergo a mandatory RAT at the airport.
Image credit: @IndiGo6E/Twitter
2. Travellers to Assam will be exempted from on-arrival testing at the airport if they carry a negative RT-PCR report with sample collection done within 72 hours, and a final vaccination certificate (two doses):
Image credit: @IndiGo6E/Twitter
3. Fully vaccinated travellers flying into Chhattisgarh are now exempted from the pre-departure RT-PCR test requirement. To get the exemption, travellers must carry the final vaccination certificate showing two doses. Partially vaccinated (one dose) or unvaccinated travellers must carry a negative RT-PCR report, conducted not earlier than 96 hours before arrival:
Image credit: @IndiGo6E/Twitter
4. Effective tomorrow, September 1, passengers flying to Gwalior from Maharashtra will need to carry a negative RT-PCR report (not older than 72 hours) for entry. Those without the report can get tested for free upon arrival:
Image credit: @IndiGo6E/Twitter
5. Jabalpur, on the other hand, has removed all of its COVID-19 travel guidelines for domestic passengers:
Image credit: @IndiGo6E/Twitter
Meghalaya to open for tourism
Starting September 1, Meghalaya will open its doors to fully vaccinated tourists. Partially vaccinated or unvaccinated tourists will have to carry a negative RT-PCR/TrueNat/CBNAAT report with sample collection done within 72 hours of arrival. Local tourists who have taken at least one shot will be allowed to visit all locations across the state:
#Meghalaya will restart its tourism from 1st September 2021 with the following protocols:
1. Fully vaccinated tourists will be allowed to visit Meghalaya for tourism related purposes from 1st September, 2021. @kishanreddybjp @tourismgoi @meghtourism pic.twitter.com/vGX2Fx5GTB
— Conrad Sangma (@SangmaConrad) August 26, 2021
MoHFW issues advisory to ease travel
So far, states have had the autonomy to set their own travel rules based on local developments. But on August 25, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare issued an advisory asking states to relax pre-travel testing requirements, due to the decline in India’s COVID-19 caseload since May.
The order is not binding, but is meant to act as a protocol for quarantine, isolation and exemptions, if a state chooses to adopt it. Here’s the full document:
Revised Domestic #travel guidelines✈️@AAI_Official @DGCAIndia @MoCA_GoI @AAIRHQSR #Domestic #passengers pic.twitter.com/6mP2xOpf6L
— Calicut International Airport (@aaiclcairport) August 27, 2021
Will this order affect your travel plans right now? No, unless a state decides to follow it to a T. Right now, all individual state guidelines still apply.
If a state does choose to implement this order, travel will actually get easier in some cases, as the order recommends allowing domestic travel without RT-PCR/Rapid Antigen tests for fully vaccinated travellers who have had 15 days go by since their second dose.
If any travel rules are relaxed after this order, we’ll let you know ASAP! Keep your app notifications on for a quick update 🙂
