The Indian government has started the air bubble arrangement with the Maldives, making it sixth on the list of countries where Indians can travel now. The first flight to Maldives will start from 18 August.
The agreement between both the countries was signed during a video-conference with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and his Maldives counterpart, Abdulla Shahid. A travel bubble or a bilateral air bubble is a travel corridor between two countries that wish to reopen their borders and re-establish connections with each other. This is considered an exclusive partnership between countries. India has allowed travel to the US, the UK, Germany, France and Kuwait so far, and is in talks with Canada for a similar travel arrangement. Earlier, countries like the US, France and Germany had also pressured India to allow their airlines to operate flights like Air India’s Vande Bharat Mission.
