I took an international flight for leisure post lockdown. These are the things to keep in mind

I traveled to Maldives in October and stayed for a week. The sudden lockdown resulting from the coronavirus pandemic has resulted in frequent changes in my travel plans. I am sure it’s been similar for many of you. Been without traveling in the last six months had started taking a serious toll on my mental health. Ever since 2012, there has hardly been months where I didn’t travel. Most months would have a weekend road trip or a getaway. If not, the work trips would be extended to suit my travel urge. And this year, my wife and I had made big ticket plans. I was supposed to go on a solo trip to Turkey in March and her on a solo backpacking Europe trip in April. Both got cancelled. We had money locked in credit shells for months. International travel post lockdown for leisure has been discouraged by families and governments. However, a true blooded explorer knows how satisfying it is in traveling out of the country, meeting new people and seeing new vistas.

It was in the third week of September we said, “Enough! Enough of not traveling the world.” We have always been a responsible traveler, taking all precautions and traveling so traveling international in post-covid era wouldn’t be much of a trouble.

The next morning, we found ourselves queuing up for immigration. Our flight to Maldives leaves in a few hours.

How to plan international travel in post Covid era

Choose your destination wisely. We all are responsible travelers caring about human beings and the nature alike. Till the time I am penning this article, Maldives is the only country that is welcoming tourists and has reported very few Covid cases in the last few months.

That’s because Maldives follows the one island – one resort rule. So, even if one resort reports of a Covid case, the other islands located far away in the sea is safe. But the resort policies in Maldives is also very strict. Since March, none of the staff in each resort hasn’t been allowed to leave the island. And no employees were let entry in the island since then. So, there is no way these staffs can contract the infection.

On the other hand, the island country demands a Covid negative test report done within last 72 hours when you land in Male airport. So, the tourists need to test negative of covid as well.

A few more destinations are letting tourists in – Serbia, Albania, Cyprus, Bahamas, Austria, Belarus, Colombia, Finland and Greece.

Maldives, however, is the only destination closer to us and open for tourists.

What formalities are required to travel international now?

Each country has its own set of rules to arrest the spread of covid infection. Maldives requires a Covid negative test report done maximum 72 hours before your travel from the first port of origin. So, if your flight from Delhi is at 7 in the morning today and even if it’s not a direct flight but a connecting one, you would need to ensure the sample is collected not before 7 AM three days prior.

Besides, the traveler shouldn’t have made any other international travel in the last 14 days.

Are flights operating on regular basis?

Well, international flights are operational. Unlike the pre covid times, there are very few flights though. So, the only flight from India to Maldives is the Trivandrum-Male Air India flight AI 263 is operational on Wednesdays. Similarly, other flights are operational to other countries but less frequently.

Is getting a negative covid test for travel mandatory?

Yes, to be precise. Each country has its own set of policies for the current situation for foreign passport holders. A negative test report is mandatory in most cases. The hours differ though. Like Dubai requires the sample to be collected 96 hours before flying from India.

What if I don’t have negative test report?

If the country has a policy, you wouldn’t be allowed to board the flight from India. If not, you would be required to undergo quarantine at a designated facility for a week or two and produce test results there.

Where can I get negative test done in India?

If you are in one of the metros in India, it’s very simple. Just dial up any of the private labs if you want convenience of home collection of sample. Do remember, the test needs to be RT PCR and not the rapid antigen. In general RT PCR test takes six hours to 48 hours for the results to come. The popular labs in metro cities are Apollo, Dr Lal Pathlabs, SRL, and Thyrocare. The most efficient is Apollo Diagnostics, where I received report in less than ten hours.

You can find the list of approved labs on ICMR website. Yes, the labs need to be ICMR approved. Only then you will receive your test report recorded on the ICMR link. The immigration officers in the destination country often check that link and don’t bother about the hard copy you are carrying.

Is there the same pleasure of flying international?

Not really. Firstly, there is a limit in luggage. One can check in only one piece of baggage and the weight limit has been cut to 20 kg mostly. Besides, the food isn’t extravagant anymore. Since the cabin crew are observing maximum caution, the food packets are generally handed over quickly. Serving variety of alcohol needs more contact, so you can either ask for a can of beer or coke – that’s it. Also, you aren’t allowed to walk a few steps on the aisle to relax yourself.

How expensive is international travel in post lockdown phase?

The flight tickets are a bit more expensive. Simply because the flights are limited. But the hotels are offering good discounts to make up for that. So, in Maldives, resorts like Heritance Aarah are offering seaplane transfers free of cost, which normally would have cost USD 500 per person. Overall, traveling now is a bit economical of course. Besides, with lesser occupancy at hotels, you can stay away from the crowd.

Is Maldives completely safe to travel?

To understand this, lets explain first how tourism in Maldives works. The island country has 1192 islands, of which 180 are inhabited. Almost 150 islands have resorts in them and the rest 30 are for locals. You as a tourist is only allowed in any of the 150 islands. Technically, each island has one resort. And these islands aren’t conventional islands of Bali or Andaman. When we say one resort, it’s just the resort and nothing else. So, no concrete roads, no locals (unless an employee), no shops and nothing else.

Male is the capital city of Maldives, which has all facilities right from hospitals to shopping malls. You can enter Male and roam around and stay at business hotels. However, if you enter the city of Male, you will need to undergo 14 days of quarantine mandatorily. And this is applicable for tourists.

Now, to answer the question, if you plan to travel without being quarantined and stay safe choose any of the resorts. You will have all the fun and you won’t have to worry about infection.

Do I wear masks when in the islands?

The tourists who come to Maldives need to bring with them negative test report. So, you are as safe as the other tourists. The staffs haven’t left the islands since March and are taken off duty if they report of sickness.

The staffs wear masks whenever they are on duty. Now to stay safe you can choose to wear masks round the clock. However, we did roam around freely without masks as we were assured by the resort staffs.

Mind you, it’s only possible when you travel to Maldives and no where else.

What rules are applicable when coming back to India?

The rule of quarantine is different from state to state. In Delhi, you need to undergo mandatory institutional quarantine for seven days, while in Kolkata, the home quarantine is a must. However, if you want to refrain yourself from institutional quarantine, you need to get a Covid negative test report, done within 96 hours before your departure to India. Once you have the negative test report, there isn’t much of a hassle.

When you land in India first, for us, it was Trivandrum in Kerala, there is thermal screening of body temperature followed by an interview with the health officials who take down all the details of your travel. If the traveler doesn’t report of any unusual health issues, he is let go.

There is a catch. So, if you have a connecting flight to your home destination, the first place of entry wouldn’t bother much about you as you aren’t entering that state. And then your terminal changes from international to domestic.

How to get the negative test done before flying into India

You need to take a note of this. Wherever you are going for your leisure, do enquire about this the first thing at your hotel/ homestay/ resort. For Maldives, each resort is equipped with this facility at an added cost. Covid test in India is among the cheapest for sure.

Be a responsible traveler

The travel norms might have relaxed but the virus hasn’t gone anywhere. Stay cautious. If you are traveling international, take all precautions and follow government protocols. Even if you aren’t going for institutional quarantine, ensure you stay isolated on your return.

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