Bilateral air bubbles will carry travellers till entry restrictions in place: Hardeep Singh Puri

NEW DELHI: Union civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Thursday said that till the

international civil aviation

can reclaim its pre-COVID numbers, the answer lies in flying through

bilateral air bubbles

which will carry a possible number of people but under defined conditions as countries, including India, are still imposing entry restrictions.


"Till international civil aviation can reclaim its pre-COVID numbers, I think the answer lies in bilateral air bubbles which will carry a possible number of people but under defined conditions as countries are still imposing entry restrictions including India," the minister told reporters.

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Meanwhile, also speaking at the press meet, Air India chairman and managing director Rajiv Bansal said that as on July 13, Air India and

Air India Express

operated 1,103 flights, bringing back 2,08,000 Indians under Vande Bharat Mission.

"On many of these flights, we ferried back 85,289 passengers to various countries across the world," he added.