Vande Bharat: India mulls international air ‘bubbles’ after US cries foul
India is considering opening up so-called “bilateral bubbles” — tightly controlled international travel corridors — with countries including the U.S., France, Germany and U.K., hours after President Donald Trump’s administration threatened to restrict charter flights from the South Asian nation.
“As we move from controlled and managed aviation evacuation of our citizens in different parts of the world and foreign nationals from India, we are now looking at the possibility of establishing bilateral arrangements,” India’s civil aviation ministry said in a statement Tuesday. “As we contemplate further opening up in response to demands, we are looking at the prospect of establishing individual bilateral bubbles.”
Earlier on Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Transportation accused India of violating a treaty governing aviation between the two countries and cited state-run Air India Ltd.’s repatriation flights as an “unfair and discriminatory” practice. U.S. airlines are not allowed to conduct similar flights to the country. India said a final decision on its negotiations with several countries including the U.S. will be taken soon.
