KOLKATA: Travel plans of hundreds booked on transit flights to North America, Australia and the Far East via Singapore are in jeopardy following the Centre’s decision to push back reopening of scheduled international flights from December 15 following the Omicron scare.
Travel agents in the city were inundated with calls from clients and faced a barrage of queries on whether they could go ahead with the journey or cancel the flights.
“We have booked several tickets for clients who connect onward to Australia or the US from Singapore. All of them are worried because if scheduled flights don’t operate, they will not be able to do a transit journey. In that case, they will have to stop in Singapore, which will require a visa, fulfilling the country's entry and quarantine norms and then travel on separate legs. All that will not only mean huge delays but also exponentially drive up costs,” said Travel Agents Federation of India chairman (east) Anil Punjabi.
Travellers used to prefer flights via the Gulf before Covid since they offered flexible options with more frequencies. The scenario has changed post-Covid with Emirates operating only three flights a week against 12-13 earlier and Qatar flying to Kolkata two times a week instead of daily. But with Singapore starting daily flights from November 29, passengers have opted for the airline to travel to US, Australia and destinations in East Asia.
Homemaker Bhaswati Biswas, who took the Singapore Airlines flight on Wednesday, didn’t face any such anxiety as her final destination was Singapore. Her two-year-old daughter is travelling with her.
“Travelling internationally has become a challenge, but we have to comply with norms,” she said. The flight left with 12 passengers from Kolkata while it had arrived with 75 from Singapore. All 75 will be quarantined.
Those booked on Gulf flights are better off as Emirates and Qatar will continue to allow transit passengers. “There is no problem if one transits Dubai or Doha,” said Travel Agents Association of India chairman (east) Manav Soni.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has said it will notify its decision on the date for resumption of scheduled commercial international flights in due course. The Centre had hinted at a postponement on November 28 when it said it would take a decision on an effective date to resume flights after reviewing the evolving global scenario over concerns related to the Omicron variant of coronavirus.
Scheduled international flights have remained suspended in India since March 23 last year due to the pandemic. However, special international passenger flights have been operating since July 2020 under air-bubble agreements with 31 countries.
