India has recently signed the air bubble agreement with Sri Lanka which will allow eligible passengers to travel between the two countries in the near future.

Due to the pandemic, scheduled international commercial flights from India have been suspended since March last year. Since then India has established individual Air bubble agreements that will allow airlines of countries in the pact to operate international flights, mandating certain rules and restrictions to be followed by passengers to undertake travel. India already has Air Bubble agreements with 27 other countries, which include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Canada, France, Germany, Iraq, Japan, Kenya, Nepal, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, the UAE, the UK, and the US.

“Attention travellers! India has finalised an air bubble agreement with Sri Lanka, making it the 6th such arrangement in SAARC region & the 28th in total. All the eligible passengers will be able to travel between the 2 countries in the near future. Travel safe!”- said The Ministry of Civil Aviation in a Tweet.

Sri Lanka’s Tourism Travel Bio Bubble:

Sri Lanka has set in place a ‘Tourism Travel Bio Bubble’ which has made it easier for those visiting the country. This arrangement applies to International tourists visiting Sri Lanka under tourist visa and optional for dual citizens, valid resident visa holders, Sri Lankan citizens who opt to come under the tourism route. No prior approvals are required from Ministry of Foreign Affairs or Civil Aviation Authority and there is no minimum number of days required of stay in Sri Lanka.

To travel to Sri Lanka under the Travel Bio Bubble, visitors are required to:

1. Have negative PCR test done 96 hours before boarding flight.

2. Have a confirmed Hotel booking in a Safe & Secure Level 1 hotel/s. Travellers will be allowed to move within L1 hotels and use all facilities of the hotel.  

Vaccinated Travellers: Stay for 24-48 hours in a Safe & Secure Level 1 hotel. On receipt of a negative PCR test report travelers are permitted to leave the bio-bubble. The respective L1 hotel doctor will issue a discharge document upon verifying the status of vaccination and PCR test results.

Not Vaccinated Travellers: Stay at a Certified Safe & Secure L1 hotel/s for upto first 14 days of the visit and undergo an on-arrival PCR test. Travelers are allowed to stay at any number of Certified Safe & Secure L1 hotels and permitted to use all facilities of the hotel. Travelers are allowed to visit approved tourist sites in a bio bubble.

3. Confirm a Pre-paid COVID Insurance when making Hotel Booking.

4. Have Pre-paid PCR tests when making hotel bookings: If vaccinated, the travellers must take one PCR test on arrival. The exit PCR test is not mandatory for vaccinated visitors.

For those not vaccinated, one PCR test will be taken on arrival and another before their exit.

– If the traveller is staying for more that 14 days, the exit PCR test will be taken on the 11-14th day of arrival after which the traveller will be allowed to leave the Bio-bubble provided the result is negative.

– If the traveller stay is between 5-14days, the exit PCR test will be taken 24-28 hours prior to the departure.

– If stay is for less than 5 days, the traveller is exempt from taking the exit PCR test. However, you will need to keep in mind the requirements of the country that you will be travelling to.

• Children below 2 years are exempted from PCR testing. It is only if the parents/guardians develop symptoms or result in positive PCR test report that the child will have to undergo a PCR tests.

• Children between 2-12 years,

 Vaccinated route – The child will have to undergo the test only on-arrival PCR

 Not-vaccinated route – The child will have to undergo an exit PCR testing

5. Arrange airport transfers either with the respective Certified Safe & Secure L1 hotel or through Certified Safe & Secure travel agent.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here