At Last Private Aircraft And Charter Operations See Some Action

To bring back stranded Indians from overseas, the government finally issued guidelines for an order to allow non-scheduled domestic operations, post two months of travel restrictions

- Ayushee Chaudhary

After months of inactivity due to the lockdown to deal with the pandemic and persistent requests by the industry leaders, the Indian BizAv industry finally saw some action being taken by the government. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) gave out an order dated May 24, 2020, permitting international charter operations and operations by private aircraft to bring back stranded Indian nationals to India. The MHA also permitted certain categories of Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) Card holders to come to India in terms of the MHA order issued on May 22, 2020.

In order to facilitate the movement of stranded Indian nationals and certain OCI Card holders, a Standard Operating Protocol (SOP) for Private aircraft and Charter operations on international sectors in view of COVID -19 pandemic was also prepared by the Ministry through a letter issued to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. Suitable precautionary measures such as environmental sanitation and disinfection shall be ensured within the flights.

Some guidelines for the travelers include:

The persons who wish to travel are required to register themselves with the Indian Mission in the country where they are stranded, giving all necessary details as prescribed by Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). The cost of travel will be borne by such travelers or their employers/hiring firms or by any other entity.