Abu Dhabi’s Etihad to offer special passenger flights to select Indian cities

Abu Dhabi carrier Etihad Airways will operate a series of special passenger flights from the capital emirate to Bengaluru, Delhi, and Mumbai, starting August 21.

Travellers leaving Abu Dhabi to India are required to present a negative Covid-19 PCR test result from a government accredited medical facility. The test must be carried out within 96 hours prior to departure. The certificate will exempt the passenger from mandatory quarantine on arrival in India.

Children under the age of 12 and people with mild to severe disabilities are currently exempt from this PCR test requirement, however rules may differ from state to state and travellers are advised to reconfirm prior to departure.

Flights must be booked at least 24 hours in advance.

Etihad Airways via its collaboration with Mediclinic Middle East, is enabling its outbound passengers in the UAE to avail of Covid-19 testing services prior to their departure.

Read: Etihad Airways rolls out Covid-19 home-testing for travellers in the UAE

As part of its Etihad Wellness programme, passengers can avail the testing service either at their home or at a Medicare facility.

Read: UAE’s Etihad launches health and hygiene programme

The flights can be booked through Hala Travel Management, Etihad’s travel management arm, by calling +971 2 511 7777, or via email.

Travellers need to follow the Air Suvidha guidelines and fill in the arrival self-declaration form which is available online, or from the HALA travel consultants.

Flight schedule, effective August 21, 2020 (all times local):

Only permanent residents of the following Indian states are permitted to travel to the following cities:

Bengaluru: State of Karnataka

Delhi: States of Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan

Mumbai: State of Maharashtra

Etihad Airways ferried 3.5 million passengers in H1 2020, compared to 8.2 million in H1 2019, marking a steep decline of 58 per cent.

Also read: Abu Dhabi’s Etihad registers 58% dip in passenger numbers for H1 2020