On Thursday (August 13), India has signed an air bubble agreement with the neighboring country Maldives and made it the 6th country in the list of countries where Indians can travel amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The first flight under air bubble agreement is expected to depart to Male on Tuesday (August 18). However, it is yet to be announced which airlines will operate on the route. Prior to pandemic lockdown, IndiGo (6E), Go Air (G8) and SpiceJet (SG) had direct flights from Indian cities to Male.

The announcement was made at a video conference held by external affairs minister of India S Jaishankar and the foreign minister of Maldives Abdulla Shahid. This interaction provided an opportunity for the two countries to assess their bilateral relations and make some landmark announcements.

During the virtual conference, India also announced Indian Line of Credit (LoC) of USD 400 million, as well as a grant component of USD 100 million for the Greater Male Connectivity Project.

Under the concept of an air bubble agreement between countries, citizens with valid travel documents are allowed to travel freely between specifies countries and they do not need to undergo a mandatory quarantine upon arrival. The establishment of the air bubble is to promote the flow of people from both sides for tourism, employment, business, medical emergencies etc.

India currently has allowed travel to the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Kuwait. Moreover, India is in talks with Canada for a similar travel arrangement.

According to the Ministry of Health in India, there are some special rules for Indian travelers to the Maldives as listed below:

1. Travelers are required to fill a health declaration form 24 hours before departure from India and other one 24 hours before departure from Maldives.
2. Travelers without symptoms of COVID-19 do not need to be quarantined upon arrival.
3. All travelers are required to undergo a non-intrusive temperature checks and screening upon arrival.
4. The Maldives Health Authorities may also choose any traveler for a random COVID-19 PCR test. This is a voluntary test.
5. All travelers are required to wear face masks at the airport, during travel and in all enclosed public places.

Maldives welcomed its first international tourists by Qatar Airways flight on July 15 morning amid the COVID-19 pandemic, after nearly four months of following lockdown restrictions along with border closure to limit the risk of importation and spread of COVID-19 in the country.