Flight bookings from UAE to India and return can drop after leading airports have adopted new COVID-19 guidelines for all passengers.

Delhi and Mumbai, which are the biggest air travel hubs in India, have announced updated guidelines for arrivals due to surge in Omicron cases. “New bookings have slowed and families seem reluctant to travel with the new Covid rules, it is too much of a hassle for them,” said a spokesperson for Regal Tours in Dubai.

Ticket rates for flights from UAE to India have dropped, with prices for Delhi and Mumbai now being available for Dh400-Dh500 as compared to Dh1,000-Dh2,000 few weeks ago.

New travel rules

For arrivals at Mumbai airport

* All resident passengers of Mumbai have to mandatorily undergo 7 days of home quarantine after arriving in Mumbai.

* They have to perform RT PCR test on the 7th day and if negative the traveller has to self-monitor for more 7 days.

* If the test is positive, passengers will be shifted to an institutional quarantine facility under current guidelines for international travellers.

* Travellers connecting to other states can take connecting flights.

For arrivals at New Delhi

* Passengers have to book their flight at least 24 hours in advance and include all required information, as needed by the Indian embassy.

* Take PCR test at any accredited medical facility, maximum of 72 hours before flight departure. Children under five are excluded from testing unless having symptoms of COVID-19.

* All passengers who are required to take test on arrival must pre book their COVID-19 PCR test and fill their self-declaration form (SDF) under the Air Suvidha section.

The new measures are expected to impact flow of tourists between the two countries, eating into any business travel. “The seven-day home quarantine for passengers arriving in Mumbai is not only going to impact leisure travel but also almost certain kill any business travel that may have started to return,” said Vinamra Longani, head of operations at Sarin & Co, a law firm specialising in aircraft leasing and finance. “As matters pertaining to public health fall under the purview of the respective state governments in India, they are within their right to add to - or dilute - guidelines issued in light of Covid for international passengers by the Government of India.”

With these latest restrictions, the resumption of normal commercial flights seems a rare possibility. “India had announced the resumption of scheduled international operations - this was to be done in a calibrated manner depending on the Covid situation in the respective countries,” said Longani.

Ending the ‘bubble’ arrangement would have let UAE airlines to operate at 100 per cent pre-pandemic capacity and bring down fares on the route. “This plan had to be canned due to Omicron and as it stands there is no clarity on when scheduled flights would resume,” said Longani.

As of Wednesday, the total case tally of the Omicron variant reached 781 in India. The variant of concern, first detected in South Africa in November, has now spread to 21 states in India. Delhi has the highest count with 238 cases, followed by Maharashtra with 167 cases.

“Once again Mumbai BMC and the city’s 3 or 2-star hotels will start making money,” said a user on Facebook. “They will make stalls inside Mumbai airport to get passengers arriving from other countries - all monkey business in the name of the new coronavirus variant.”

Saransh Goila, a Mumbai-based celebrity chef, had a horrible experience after testing positive recently. “What followed after my Covid positive report was a roller-coaster ride,” said Goila in an Instagram post. “I was made to shift from home quarantine to institutional quarantine to a hospital.