Hong Kong has restarted talks with Japan and a handful of other countries on setting up travel bubbles, said trade chief Edward Yau on Monday Source: english.kyodonews.net “We start with Indians, Nepalis, OCI/PIO card holders of all nationalities and all holders of valid Indian visas (except tourist visas), said a source about the Indian-Nepal agreement on the air bubble. Air bubble regulation with Nepal will follow medical protocols, as is the case for other countries that have a mandatory RT-PCR test report 72 hours before the start of the trip. What is a travel bubble? How does the concept work? The Government of Antigua and Barbuda has updated its travel instructions that allow residents and citizens of several Caribbean Community (CARICOM) states to enter the country by presenting covid-19 certificates on arrival. The bubble also extends to the people and citizens of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OESC), Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Jamaica. When the world learned of this initiative, many began to follow this example, or at least to think seriously about the possibility of forming a block with their neighbors. Most countries generally view the concept of the travel bubble as something that would involve a takeover of companies in several sectors. Such regulations will also enable group members to reconnect with each other and stimulate sectors such as travel and tourism. The Baltic countries, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, were the first to create an air bubble that allowed free travel between themselves while limiting external people. With some European countries reporting a second wave of infection, air bubbles allowing citizens to travel freely between certain nations under a reciprocal agreement appear to be the “new normal”, even if demand for international air travel remains low.
The EU`s civil aviation minister, Hardeep Singh Puri, said India was negotiating air bubble agreements with 13 other countries. Spain has reciprocal travel agreements with Australia, China, South Korea, Japan, New Zealand, Rwanda, Singapore, Thailand and Uruguay. In all cases, a negative PCR test carried out within 72 hours of arrival in Spain is mandatory when travelling from a high-risk country or area (from 23 November). No, “air bubbles” do not mean the resumption of international commercial exploitation of passengers. These are always return flights, for which countries have agreed to allow airlines from other airlines to enter and travel to their respective countries, but with conditions.