[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by akshay4587

Getting a Covid test done in Canada and uploading the report on Air Suvidha portal would have been a lot more easier.

For Travel related tests, it depends on the province of Canada. In Alberta, due to pressure on other cases, they have stopped this and instead given it to a private lab. They were not committing timely receipt of the report. I took a calculated risk and it worked Ok for me.

Yes, it's easier if you get the test done at the origin. Air-Canada and some other airlines are working on the pre-boarding/ arrival tests and hopefully, we should have something better in next year.

Originally Posted by audioholic

Returned to Bangalore from Frankfurt last Saturday(28/11). [*]After baggage collection and exit from the Green/Red channel area, there is another counter possibly from the Karnataka government.[*]Here they ask for covid negative certificate and also take down your details. They also wanted the Suvidha declaration but I told them its already taken from us earlier.[/list]After this, we are free to exit the airport. There is no mention about quarantine, nor any stamp or seal.

Are you aware what happened to the others who were not having negative reports? I think Delhi Airport is the only place where they have Covid Test facility currently.

[audioholic]

Returned to Bangalore from Frankfurt last Saturday(28/11). Carrier was Lufthansa since my onward ticket on Air France/KLM got cancelled due to the COVID situation. My plan was to earlier quarantine myself in a hotel in Bangalore for a week at least and later get a COVID test done before I reach home. Due to the lifting of quarantine restrictions in Bangalore and a few personal commitments, I changed the plan.

I reached Frankfurt on 26th Evening and gave a swab for RT-PCR test and got the negative result by the same night. Stayed over at a hotel that night and my flight was the next noon. For the flight, they are checking for registration confirmation in the Suvidha portal. Lufthansa had also asked us to register in the Indian embassy site. But they did not check for that. Better to carry printout since its safer than handing over your phone to the staff at airports.

Flight was uneventful, though the time of the flight meant no sleep and 9hrs of flying with a mask on is a royal pain in the back. Service was normal and twice during the flight. I heard that Air India is still not having in flight service.

Upon arrival things were pretty well managed in Bangalore airport. Here is how it goes:

1. Disembarkation was done sequentially - But some morons as usual want to think they are invincible and try to get out of the seat and into the aisle and what not.
2. In the ramp between gate and immigration there is a well organised three counter setup - The first counter has a thermal camera, second one for checking SpO2 and a third one to collect the Suvidha form with these details.
3. Immigration was not crowded and is now split into separate queues from beginning compared to the earlier single queue which would only separate close to the counter.
4. Customs check was as usual.
5. After baggage collection and exit from the Green/Red channel area, there is another counter possibly from the Karnataka government.
6. Here they ask for covid negative certificate and also take down your details. They also wanted the Suvidha declaration but I told them its already taken from us earlier.

After this, we are free to exit the airport. There is no mention about quarantine, nor any stamp or seal. I returned home with my parents after a quick change of clothes and washing hands and face.

After disembarkation from flight, I never came into close contact anyone. However a few people still have that dont care habit and near the baggage belt they want to grab their baggage as if they are carrying gold in it, which will lead to stupid things like not being able to pick it up successfully and still holding onto it, getting dragged along and stuff.

But as long as this mask rule exists, I feel wearing it for nine hours is a real pain. Some people were wearing light disposable masks, but I dont see the protection it offers and rest had just brought it down below their nose.

[Turbanator]

Do we need to take a print of the boarding pass, departing tomorrow early morning from Delhi on a domestic flight and the home printer is not working. What are the options at airport?

[akash_v12]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

Do we need to take a print of the boarding pass, departing tomorrow early morning from Delhi on a domestic flight and the home printer is not working. What are the options at airport?

Not necessarily. Actually, depends on the airline you're flying. For example, GoAir gave us the option to take the digital boarding pass all the way till my destination. But IndiGo had no such options. So, instead took out a printout at the airport through the kiosks.

[Turbanator]

Flying Vistara this morning, one doesn’t need a print of the boarding pass. You can scan the QR or Bar code at security and later at Gate before boarding. Vistara has option to deliver pass via Apple wallet.

However, there are long queues at security, factor 30-45 minutes and hardly any COVID related safety, except for the masks. For some reasons, Vistara used a bus and it got crowded almost like past.

Will not recommend elders or people who have higher risks to start flying at this time and also not for any short duration flights that can be covered in 5-6 hours of road journey.

[bigron]

Took an international flight in September from IGI.

There was a thermal check at the entrance and thats it. Hardly any restrictions on flying out.

However getting in, you need to have a negative covid report from a test taken 72 prior to boarding your flight and upload it on the Air Suvidha portal. If you have that, you would be out of the airport in under 10 mins. No immigration lines.

The portal is surprisingly efficient. They take you to a separate area in case you do not have a negative report or no report.

The international airport is empty and seem far safer than the crowded markets in our country.

The flight itself is similar other than all food is now packed and served differently. The risk of sitting next to someone who might be infected is high. But the planes are quite empty .

[Amrik Singh]

What is the latest on International Flight from Delhi.?
Intend to visit US May/June for a few months. Do I have to take direct non-stop flight only or can I take a 1 stop changeover flight ?
Normally I avoid non-stop flight and prefer a mid way changeover in Europe to give rest to the body. This time I had planned Singapore Airlines but never took off because of Covid.
I shall get vaccinated next week and take second shot too as stipulated.
Though I believe, no one could guess the daily changing scenario and the regulations, any input would be appreciated.

[Dieseltuned]

Does any body have any latest info on incoming domestic flights at Bombay ? Are RT-PCR reports asked from passengers ?

[vigsom]

All,

I'm doing my second trip by air in the Covid era.

Calling out a few changes that I spotted today from what I saw in Nov-2020. This is at BDQ airport.

1. Web check in - still mandatory unless one wants to cough up 200 bucks at the airport

2. At the airport

* no scrutiny by airline staff immediately after entry into the terminal building
* baggage tag generated at baggage drop as per normal practice
* ID card checked at 4 points - before entry into the terminal, at the entry to check in area, by the Indigo agent at baggage drop, and at Security check
* Security check is back to old ways viz. jawans weren't in PPE suit but wore masks
* laptop, mobile, belt, wallet, and metal objects through the scanner. This time I ensured I put on a pant that held on without the belt
* Face shield, mask, sanitizer sachets were issued by Indigo at the gate; PPE suits to all passengers seated in Bravo and Echo

Please remember to wear the face shield with the belt down (as recommended in the opening post).

PS: I will be cooling off at BLR airport between 3pm and 5pm waiting for my next flight. If there are any bhpians in the airport then, please PM me. Would love to say Hi !! This is what I'll look like.

[JitendraK78]

Hi All,

Hope you all are in good health....

Due to an urgency of a project, I travelled from Mumbai (BOM) to Netherlands (NL) yesterday by KLM, since I was already having a valid business visa from NL.

Business visitors were not allowed to enter NL till 15th March 23:59, so I was one of the firsts to land in Amsterdam (AMS) on 16th March 07:00.

The NL specific requirements at present are:
1) Negative RT-PCR report within 72 hours of boarding
2) Negative RT-PCR report within 12 hours of boarding OR Negative Rapid Antigen report within 4 hours of boarding.

I had planned an RT-PCR test on 13th March, and another on 15th March, so as to have both RT-PCR reports in time.

Unfortunately, the second report was not issued before check-in and so I needed to get the Rapid Antigen test done at CSIA T2.

Pre-Boarding:

No boarding pass was issued after web check-in. When I reached CSIA T2 much before check-in opened (2 hour before check-in opened, to be precise), there were few staff members available at the counter, who directed the passengers to the Rapid antigen test facility at the terminal (basically outside the terminal).

The test costed INR 600/- and the reports were handed over directly to KLM ground staff by the testing lab.

During check-in, the ground team checked the 72-hour RT-PCR report and the rapid test report, before allowing the passengers to check-in.

In case of transiting passengers, only 72-hour RT-PCR report was sufficient.

The two test reports were again verified during boarding, in case the destination is NL.

Flight:

The flight was as good as normal, compared to before COVID era, mandatory wearing masks was the only difference.

The flight was almost 90% full, and no passenger was given face screen or PPE suit. The service was also normal, where drinks, snacks and a breakfast were served during the flight time of 8hrs 50 min.

Arrival at AMS:

Before arrival at AMS, captain announced that the passengers are recommended for a 10-day self-quarantine upon arrival in NL.

There were staff of NL security who were checking the two test reports and then allowing the passengers to proceed further to immigration. Other than this, there were no special arrangements / checks at the AMS airport / exit of terminal like temperature check etc.


Immigration at AMS:

As mentioned above, the business visitors were allowed only from 16th March 00:01 hrs, immigration officials called my contact person in NL, to verify the reasons for my visit, and then stamped the passport. This took almost 30 minutes.

As mentioned by others in previous posts of this thread, the airport (at BOM as well as AMS) were empty with many of the shops (including some duty-free shops) closed. There was not much crowd in the terminal.

During a quick chat with a CISF staff at security check, the CISF person mentioned that currently the number of international flights are almost below 10% of the pre-covid levels.

[Shiftlock]

Hi all,
I would be travelling from Hyderabad to jaipur this weekend using the services of Indigo. I want to know if I have to carry a printed copy of my boarding pass or can I use the QR code received in the online ticket and e-boarding pass?
Can anyone who has travelled from Hyderabad elaborate on this please.

[mayankk]

Could not find a specific thread so posting here.

Indigo is offering credit against any domestic flight cancellation due to passengers being wary of travel to the destination. It was Goa in my case, and even though no restrictions have been put in place regarding flights yet, they surprised by waiving off all cancellation charges.

However, I think this is only when you connect directly with them. Mmt or others may not offer this.
I'm happy that I got back 90% of my total spend.
Just a heads up.

[krishnakumar]

Originally Posted by Shiftlock

Hi all,
I would be travelling from Hyderabad to jaipur this weekend using the services of Indigo. I want to know if I have to carry a printed copy of my boarding pass or can I use the QR code received in the online ticket and e-boarding pass?
Can anyone who has travelled from Hyderabad elaborate on this please.

Printed copies of boarding passes are an old concept and are long gone. I have travelled by showing my e-boarding pass even from smaller airports like Trivandrum.

I'm fairly certain you won't need a printed boarding pass anymore.

I don't even carry my ID cards. They are in Digilocker.

[vigsom]

Originally Posted by vigsom

Total time from Transfer toll gate to moving from Security with my belongings was 45 minutes.BLR KIAL Airport was teeming with people,

1. Be careful with your proof of identity as there are multiple check points and there is every chance of it getting misplaced.

2. Organize your laptop chargers, power banks, and mobile chargers in some packs such that taking them out of the hand baggage for security checks is an easy affair.

Experiencing Kempegowda International (BLR) departure after two years

Reiterating points 1 and 2 in the quote above. As usual, the airport was teeming with people. Noticed that there is a provision of passengers being able to print their baggage tags at kiosks, and dropping the bags off at "Ready to Go" counters. I didn't want to try this this time, and chose to go to the check in counters to drop my bag off (with the agent printing the bag tag like always). Despite a long queue at Baggage drop and at Security, it took me just 45 mins from entering the terminal to moving off after Security; passengers have mixed feelings about CISF jawans' approach, but given the stress they go through every single minute on the job at Security, I take my hats off to them

On board, I discovered how the aisle side armrest is pulled up (never realised until this time I spotted the big white knob at the rear end of the armrest). I got my pre-booked meal just before commencement of descent, and this has happened to me a few times. On analysis, I found that four attendants start their service as follows( observations may be off by a row or two)

1. Attendant#1 - row 37 or 39 (last rows in an A321neo) backwards till around row 28
2. Attendant#2 - rows 22-28
3. Attendant#3 - rows 14-22
4. Attendant#4 - rows 13 to 01

Which means, it pays to be seated in the last two or three rows to earn quick service.

Inside the bus gates area at BLR




Airside


Waiting to board the big domestic bird


The handrest up press button right at the rear of the handrest