International flights will remain suspended till July 31. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Wednesday extended the ban on scheduled international flights to and from the country till July 31. The restriction will not apply to international all-cargo flights, and scheduled flights under the travel bubble arrangements. Ban on scheduled international flights has been in place since March last year. Meanwhile, Maldives on Wednesday announced that it will open its borders to South Asian countries including India from 15 July.
As of now, India has formed air bubble arrangements with 27 countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States of America, United Arab Emirates, Bhutan, Kenya, Nepal, Maldives, Rwanda, Ukraine, Kuwait, Uzbekistan, Germany, Nigeria, France, among others. As per the said agreement, special international flights can be operated between two countries by their airlines between their territories.
Maldives gives a visa on arrival. In order to enter the Maldives, Indian nationals visiting the country as a tourist do not require any pre-arrival visa, just a valid passport. As per a tweet from the Maldives tourism ministry, international passengers are required to carry a negative RT-PCR test, with the test taken within 96 hours from the scheduled time of departure.
