The Centre has announced new guidelines for India-bound international passengers effective from Monday midnight, due to the emergence of new variants of the coronavirus, which have shown increased transmissibility.


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Under the new norms, submission of a self-declaration form (SDF) online for all arriving international passengers prior to their scheduled travel and uploading a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR report have been made mandatory. This test should have been conducted within 72 hours prior to undertaking the journey, as per the norms.


It said, "Attention Passengers! As per the latest SOPs issued by MoHFW, it is mandatory for all passengers travelling to India to submit their self-declaration form on the Air Suvidha portal (http://newdelhiairport.in) along with negative RT-PCR report, conducted within 72 hrs of departure."


"An undertaking also needs to be uploaded in the portal accepting to abide by Govt rules on testing, institutional & home quarantine. Passengers seeking exemptions in testing/quarantine protocols in case of death in the family should apply on the Air Suvidha portal. All necessary amendments have been made to the portal as per the latest guidelines & to facilitate your travel. Please reach out to Delhi Airport on social media platforms or call them on their 24x7 helpline at +91-124-4797300/+91-124-6838410 in case of any concerns or queries," it also said.



Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) on Monday rolled out its modified online facility for international arriving passengers, following new government norms in view of the emergence of COVID-19 variants. The revamped 'Air Suvidha' portal includes a new RT-PCR testing package and provision for declaring domestic connection, which will help in the implementation of a new SOP for domestic transit passengers, DIAL said in a release. DIAL is a joint venture of the Airports Authority of India and a GMR-led consortium.


DIAL had launched the portal in August 2020. The portal enables India-bound international passengers to fill the mandatory SDF? and also apply online for exemption from the mandatory quarantine process. The form will help in identifying passengers on flights from the UK, Europe and the Middle-East as well, who will undergo mandatory RT-PCR test on arrival, DIAL said.


Passengers can exit after giving the test at the airport and follow government guideline on quarantine/self-monitoring. It said SDF will also help identify passengers from high-risk counties such as the UK, Brazil and South Africa. Under the new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), passengers with the exigency of death in the family can apply for exemption and upload the approved application in SDF in place of the RT-PCR test.


All other categories for exemption stand cancelled with effect from 11:59 pm of February 22, the airport operator said. Taking into account the new SOP, Delhi Airport has revamped the Air Suvidha portal to accommodate these changes as per the guidelines, DIAL said in the release.


Apart from these, as per the new government SOP, all passengers on flights from the UK, Europe and South Africa will have to undergo the mandatory RT-PCR test. At Delhi Airport, there are two categories of testing service available for the passengers--regular (at the government approved rates) and premium, at Rs 800 and Rs 1,300, respectively, which will also be available for pre-booking online from February 23, DIAL said.


According to the new norms, those flying in from the UK, South Africa and Brazil, direct or in transit, and having a connecting flight will not be allowed to leave the airport till their RT-PCR test report is negative, said the release.