Passengers waiting to fly to Australia will be delighted to hear the following news. From November 15, Air India will offer nonstop flights between Delhi and Sydney. Air India stated that it will operate a thrice-weekly service on the Delhi-Sydney-Delhi route under the Vande Bharat Mission, announcing the full flight schedule.

Air India said in a statement that ticket sales would be available on the Air India website, through authorized travel agents, and at booking offices. 

Air India’s decision to begin direct flights on the route comes after Qantas, Australia’s national carrier, revealed plans to operate a new route from Sydney to Delhi on December 6, 2021, with three return flights per week using its A330 aircraft.

Australia relaxes its travel regulations

Since the country has reached an 80 percent vaccination rate, Australia has decided to lift international COVID-19 travel restrictions and plans to reopen the international border safely in November.

Australia now recognizes COVAXIN

Earlier this week, as the country’s border was reopened for the first time in nearly 20 months, Australia’s medicines and medical devices regulator formally recognized India’s Covaxin, a coronavirus vaccine.

Covaxin, made by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech, and Covishield, made by AstraZeneca and Oxford University, are the two most extensively used vaccines in India.

Covishield has previously been recognized in Australia.

The TGA, Australia’s regulatory body for medicines and medical devices, announced the news on Tuesday: “Today, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) determined that Covaxin (manufactured by Bharat Biotech, India) and BBIBP-CorV (manufactured by Sinopharm, China) vaccines would be ‘recognized’ for the purpose of establishing a traveler’s vaccination status.”

This recognition is for travelers aged 12 and above who have been vaccinated with Covaxin and those aged 18 to 60 who have been vaccinated with BBIBP-CorV.

– India’s new age travel digital media