India-Qatar air bubble transport arrangement has been extended until October 31 or until the resumption of scheduled services, whichever is earlier, Indian Embassy in Doha said on Thursday.
Earlier, the India's Ministry of Civil Aviation 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.
An air bubble is a bilateral arrangement between two countries under which airlines from both countries can operate international flights with a set of regulations and restrictions. As per the agreement between Indian and Qatar, "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.”
The agreement also states that, "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 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."
