by Staff Correspondent
IADB: Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), the GMR Group-led consortium, has updated AIR SUVIDHA portal as per the new guidelines for incoming international passengers.
The Government of India on October 20, 2021, issued new guidelines for passengers from 20 countries travelling to India. The move comes following continued decline in global trajectory of COVID-19, increased vaccination coverage across globe and the changing nature of the pandemic.
The new guidelines provide protocols to be complied with arriving international passengers and followed by airports, seaports, and land borders for risk profiling of passengers.
As per the new guidelines, the government has identified two categories of countries. The first category (Category A) includes countries with which the Government of India has agreement for mutual recognition of vaccination certificates for individuals who are fully vaccinated with Nationally recognized or WHO recognized COVID-19 vaccine. In addition, to those countries exempting Indian citizens fully vaccinated with Nationally recognized or WHO recognised vaccines. These countries include the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Nepal, Belarus, Lebanon, Armenia, Ukraine, Belgium, Hungary, and Serbia.
The other category countries (Countries at-risk) are those from where travelers would need to follow additional measures on arrival in India, including post-arrival testing. These include Countries in Europe including the United Kingdom, South Africa, Brazil, Bangladesh, Botswana, China, Mauritius, New Zealand, and Zimbabwe.
Based on reciprocity, the travelers from all such countries, that provide quarantine-free entry to Indians, will get certain relaxations on arrival (Category A countries) like no mandatory 14-day quarantine on arrival.
All passengers coming to India will have to fill the Self Declaration Form (SDF) on Delhi Airport’s website https://www.newdelhiairport.in/airsuvidha/apho-registration. It is mandatory for all international arriving passengers, without which they will not be allowed to board a flight to India.
In addition, they will also have to upload mandatory negative RT-PCR/molecular test reports (undertaken within 72 hours of departure) to the SDF. Each passenger will also have to submit a declaration with respect to the authenticity of the report and be liable for criminal prosecution, if found otherwise. Passengers from Category A countries can upload their vaccination certificate in AIR SUVIDHA itself for a hassle free arrival process. On arrival, health officials present at the airport would check their self-declaration form, filled online and suggest necessary procedures to be followed by passengers.
Under the new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), the Government has withdrawn all categories of exemptions. Keeping in view changes in the SOP, Delhi Airport has also updated and simplified AIR SUVIDHA portal https://www.newdelhiairport.in/airsuvidha/apho-registration for the benefit of passengers. To clear any doubt, a passenger can visit the FAQ page of the portal to clear their doubts and see the latest advisory.
Commenting on the updated AIR SUVIDHA portal, Mr. Videh Kumar Jaipuriar, CEO-DIAL, said “Delhi Airport constantly focuses on the safety and convenience of passengers. During the 1st and 2nd waves of the pandemic, it took slew of measures for passengers safety and was certified as the world’s second safest airport by Safe Travel Barometer. With a sharp decline in the number of COVID cases, the Government of India has eased the Standard Operating Procedure for arriving international passengers. DIAL accordingly has updated AIR SUVIDHA portal for the convenience of passengers travelling to India in line with the Government’s SOP.”
DIAL had launched AIR SUVIDHA, the first-of-its-kind portal, in August 2020, where international arriving passengers could fill the mandatory self-declaration form. DIAL had developed the portal in collaboration with the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of External Affairs and Governments of various states and union territories. The facility went live on August 8, 2020. AIR SUVIDHA portal helped in making passengers’ journey more convenient and comfortable in a contactless way.
