Air Suvidha to be made mandatory for passengers coming from 5 countries amid COVID fears

Amid the surge in COVID-19 cases in several countries across the world, the Centre is likely to reintroduce mandatory Air Suvidha for passengers coming from China, Japan, Thailand, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Singapore, according to the sources.

The sources said that the Union Ministry of Health will likely make it mandatory for people coming from China, Japan, Thailand, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Singapore to have their COVID-19 negative RT-PCR report that has been conducted 72 hours prior to travel, uploaded on the Air Suvida portal before taking a flight to India. The Ministry will likely begin this exercise next week for the passengers coming from the said countries.

It is pertinent to mention that if implemented, the passengers coming from these six places can abroad flights to India only after successfully uploading the COVID-19 negative RT-PCR report. Notably, the government has issued guidelines for international arrivals amid a surge in COVID-19 cases.

What is Air Suvidha?

Developed by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Air Suvidha is a digital portal where passengers travelling to India must provide details of their travel, RT-PCR report and vaccination status in a self-declaration form. The Indian authorities introduced the Air Suvidha to ensure the safety of travellers and Indian citizens. 

The Air Suvidha form can be completed via the internet, while its confirmation is delivered to the applicant’s email inbox in PDF format.

Notably, last year, the Civil Aviation and Health Ministry mandated contactless self-declaration at the Air Suvidha portal to ensure necessary prevention and smooth passage of international travellers arriving in India amid the COVId-19 pandemic. However, in November this year, the government scrapped the requirement to fill out the Air Suvidha form amid a declining number of COVID cases then.