To make international travelling easy and hassle-free, the government of India launched Air Suvidha in August 2020. It is a contactless solution provided by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Ministry of Health Family welfare in coordination with Delhi Airport for all the international passengers who are returning to India. However, recently, a lot of passengers have complained about the inefficiency of the website and have demanded to not make the portal mandatory for international passengers.
What Is Air Suvidha Portal?
International passengers returning to India have to fill out a self-declaration form. It is mandated by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. According to the official website, Air Suvidha is an online system for international passengers to submit a mandatory Self Declaration form to declare their current health status. In the application, the passengers have to fill in their journey details and their covid-19 vaccination or testing status.
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Further, their application will be sent to the Airport Health Organization (APHO) under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. Passengers need to show the application at the APHO counter in India for immigration.
What Are The Benefits Of Air Suvidha Portal?
It helps the government to keep a tab on passengers who are coming from the higher-risk region. Not just this, the portal also provides data and monitors trends in case there’s a rise in covid-19 cases.
What Are The Demerits Of Air Suvidha Portal?
Lately, passengers have complained about the glitches in the portal. Passengers are denied boarding by airlines at foreign airports due to the absence of an Air Suvidha acknowledgement certificate. Passengers also complained about passports not getting uploaded due to portal glitches. Because of which, the tourism sector is again facing losses as many passengers are not able to make it to their destination on time. Passengers are also losing a lot of money due to last-minute cancellations and changes of plans due to the lack of Air Suvidha’s acknowledgement certificate.
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What Is The Current Status?
After a lot of petitions and complaints, the Civil Aviation Ministry announced a total revamp of the website. In the new portal, international passengers will not have to upload a copy of their passport. Along with this, passengers travelling with their families can enter the entire information under one umbrella. However, passengers are still required to upload their vaccination status or covid-19 test as applicable.
According to a report, the government is considering removing the mandatory Air Suvidha requirement starting from August. An official announcement is yet to be declared.
