More vaccinated Indians are looking to book flights to Europe after quarantine waiver

The recent decision by several countries in Europe to exempt passengers vaccinated with Covishield from quarantine has led to a near-doubling of inquiries at foreign travel service providers and online travel agencies, albeit on a low base.

While regular international travel is yet to resume, and many may not have the option of direct flights to their favourite foreign destinations, there are options available. For example, a passenger flying to Switzerland can fly to Frankfurt (on flights under bubble arrangement) and then opt for the flight/rail/road option to reach the central European country.

"We have seen a jump in searches to destinations in Germany, France and the Netherlands. Leisure travellers have already started searching for booking options to Switzerland since the country opened its doors for vaccinated travellers. Search patterns indicate that flyers are looking for flight options with Lufthansa, Air France and KLM, among others," Makemytrip, India's largest travel portal, told ET in a mailed statement.

Last week, Austria, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland and Iceland announced quarantine waivers for passengers fully vaccinated with Covishield - the market name in India for the vaccine developed by Oxford AstraZeneca. The aviation industry expects vaccination to be key to restarting regular international flights.

"This (acceptance of Covishield) is a very encouraging sign for the travel industry in India as a whole. Such permissions are typically on the basis of reciprocity and hence indicative of clear trade opportunities - key to the much-needed restart of business and revival of global economies," Indiver Rastogi, president & group head, global business travel at Thomas Cook India, said in a mailed statement.

"With India's vaccine diplomacy leading the way, it is only a matter of time before approval for travel is extended to a larger swathe of nations globally, which is imperative for business travel. For us at the Thomas Cook India Group, this is excellent news as Indians have been looking to travel westward for a while, and we are now seeing a sharp rise in queries," he said.