India has started international flights with 49 cities under the Air Bubble arrangement with 18 countries in September, as per the Ministry of Civil Aviation's latest notification. Under an air-bubble pact, special international flights can be operated by their airlines between the territories of two countries.
These flights will be operational till September 30 as the suspension of scheduled international passenger flights has been extended till September 30 due to the surging cases of Covid-19.
India has signed an air-bubble pact with around 49 cities of 28 countries, including the US, the UK, the UAE, Kenya, Bhutan, and France. Passengers who are willing to travel can book their tickets to these countries through the Air India website, Air India offices, and travel agents.
As reported by Mint, "according to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Indian airlines and airports incurred financial losses worth ₹22,400 crore in the financial year 2021 as the country suspended flight operations on March 23 due to the Covid pandemic. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has reported a reduction in its revenue from ₹2,976.17 crore during April-June 2019 to approximately ₹889 crore during April-June 2021."