After celebrating the Holi Festival, India will resume its international flights. For the first time in two years, entry rules are being eased, allowing vaccinated travelers to more easily visit the country.

India celebrates Holi Festival

On March 18, 2022, India will celebrate the age-old Holi Festival. This annual celebration is a way to welcome spring and is also a new beginning for the people of India. While primarily a Hindu festival, everyone in India joins in the fun.

The festival starts with the lighting of a bonfire, said to symbolically burn away all the bad. However, it is also said to open the way to a colorful and vibrant new future.

During the festival, people can release their inhibitions and start anew. Legends say that during the Holi Festival, the gods turn a blind eye and it is one of few times when devout Hindus let themselves go. They dance and party, throwing powder dye into the air, covering partygoers in rich and vibrant colors. For some people, washing off the dye at the end of the day means a new commitment to living well, as well as cleansing oneself of demons and evil.

In 2022, after two years in the COVID-19 pandemic, the Holi Festival celebrates something more. As the celebration nears on March 18, some Indian states have already agreed to relax restrictions. For instance, West Bengal will finally lift its curfew on March 17, just in time for the colorful festival.

India to resume international flights after Holi

Just over a week after Holi, on March 27, India will resume its regular schedule of international flights for the first time since March 2020. The country recently relaxed COVID-19 entry rules to make it a little easier for vaccinated travelers to visit. They no longer need to take a PCR test before traveling and since February 14, mandatory quarantine has been dropped.

However, through much of the COVID-19 pandemic, airlines have only been able to offer limited commercial flights as part of India’s reciprocal “air bubble” agreements. According to the Times of India, limited routes into the country, along with skyrocketing demand, have led to “exorbitant” airfares. For instance, when borders reopened to travelers in November 2021, local media reported a 100 percent rise on some routes.

This situation will hopefully improve on March 27, when India returns to its pre-pandemic schedule of international flights.

Russian airspace closure to impact routes

While travelers will certainly have more options to choose from, it is unlikely that airfares will drop to pre-pandemic levels due to the rising cost of fuel. Along with this, many airlines, including American Airlines, no longer use Russian airspace to fly to India. This is due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, which is leading to flights making extra stops to refuel.

Monday saw United Airlines suspending its Delhi-San Francisco and Mumbai-Newark routes. Meanwhile, this is due to those routes no longer being fuel-efficient while Russian airspace is out of bounds. Despite this United will continue its shorter Delhi-Chicago flight.

Current COVID-19 restrictions in India

Since February 14, vaccinated citizens of 82 approved countries no longer need to take a pre-departure test to visit India. The countries include the US, the UK, Australia, Canada, France, Japan and Thailand.

Currently, all travelers are required to upload their vaccination status to the Air Suvidha portal before boarding their flight.

Meanwhile, India also dropped the mandatory quarantine requirement for all travelers in February. They asked visitors to self-monitor their health for 14 days instead and to report any symptoms to officials.

Unfortunately, international visitors might not be in time for the colorful Holi Festival itself, but the news does brighten India’s future for tourism.