While India is not as badly affected as many other countries by coronavirus outbreak, its citizens have been affected by some travel bans being put into place.
Qatar announced a travel ban on travellers from 14 countries, including India, on March 9. Micronesia, too, has blocked travel for people from any country with a confirmed coronavirus case in the last 14 days, which includes India.
Kuwait, too, had earlier announced on March 6 that flights to India would be cancelled for a week starting March 7. Passengers on an Air India flight from Calicut to Kuwait were sent back on Saturday as a result.
Indians are also affected by travel bans to countries that may be part of transit flights. Saudi Arabia, for example, had issued a travel ban on passengers from Bahrain, Oman, the UAE, Kuwait, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Egypt, France, Germany, Turkey, Spain, South Korea, Egypt and Italy.
Hundreds of Indians were affected by this after they were not allowed to take their connecting flight from Manama on Monday, OnManorama reported. Similarly, 116 passengers travelling to Saudi Arabi via the UAE were also not allowed to commence their journey from Kozhikode. However, direct flights to Saudi Arabia are still permitted. The Indian consulate in Dubai refuted reports that India has placed restrictions on flying to the UAE.
Sources, however, told Onmanorama that flight services to other Gulf countries could also be temporarily suspended.
Saudi Arabia has also stopped entry for those holding tourist visas, including passengers from India. Additional curbs have also been placed on those holding Umrah visas.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) maintains a regularly updated list of existing travel bans around the world.
Meanwhile, Malindo Air on March 7 denied rumours that flights between India and Malaysia were being suspended from March 11.
In addition, those travelling to the Solomon Islands could be subject to quarantine measures.
