Tag Archives: travel advisory

Amid ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan following the Indian Army’s precision strikes on Pakistani terror camps, Spicejet Airlines issued a flight advisory for airports in the northern parts of the country. “Airports including Dharamshala, Leh, Jammu, Srinagar and Amritsar would be closed until further notice. Departures, arrivals and consequential flights would also be impacted. Passengers are advised to plan their journey accordingly and check their flight status before flying,” the advisory stated.

Countries including the US, UK, Canada, Russia, UAE, Israel, Singapore have issued a travel advisory for its citizens, who are heading to or are in India currently. The advisory comes in the wake of ongoing protests that are taking place in several parts of the country owing to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA). The advisory notified the citizens to stay away from crowded places and areas controlled by protesters. It also advised them to remain to be vigilant and cautious get in touch with the embassy for any additional information. All these countries have also advised their citizens to avoid “non-essential” travel to North-eastern states of the country including Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland due to the protests.

Owing to the Christmas and New Year holidays, a number of Indian origin travellers with the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card are facing difficulties to board flights to India from the US. The problem is happening with a few airlines such as Air India and Qatar Airways. It has been reported that travellers, who haven’t yet updated their OCI documents after getting their passports renewed, were not granted permission to board their flights to India. Now, the Indian immigration authorities are accepting an OCI card with old passport number only for those who are over 20 years. The solution to the problem as advised by the authorities is to carry both new and old passports along until the OCI card is not renewed.