Traveling/Flights to Canada from India during COVID 19

[pkhare23]

Hey guys, need advice as my COPR was approved before 18th March and looking for flight options from Delhi to Vancouver.

Taking Air India VBM Delhi to London and then Air Canada London to Vancouver as two separate bookings.

1. Does this work and allowed to board Air India VBM from Delhi?

2. Anybody had success with separate booking like this?

3. Do they tag luggage from Delhi to Canada or you need to pick your luggage at London Airport and then do the security checkin again?

4. Any other issues faced?

Please advise as I know this is critical time for all of us and lack of providing information from Government, Flights and Airport has caused a lot of ambiguity and uncertainty resulting in stress and anxiety.

Yes you can book two separate booking ... many have gone through same route one guy recently landed in Canada via same route. Luggage is tagged till final destination you won't need to take luggage at London

 

[mage]

Hey guys, need advice as my COPR was approved before 18th March and looking for flight options from Delhi to Vancouver.

Taking Air India VBM Delhi to London and then Air Canada London to Vancouver as two separate bookings.

1. Does this work and allowed to board Air India VBM from Delhi?

2. Anybody had success with separate booking like this?

3. Do they tag luggage from Delhi to Canada or you need to pick your luggage at London Airport and then do the security checkin again?

4. Any other issues faced?

Please advise as I know this is critical time for all of us and lack of providing information from Government, Flights and Airport has caused a lot of ambiguity and uncertainty resulting in stress and anxiety.

Yes this option has worked for at least one forum user who landed recently : https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/threads/copr-and-coronavirus.681880/post-8739590

There may be more issues, but you should at least try to make sure that you don't have to change airports for taking next flight at London or go out of airport (some airports close for a few hours at night-time and you may not be able to stay in for transit). And before that you may want to check if any seats are left for booking on AI VBM flights to UK in August, unless you have time beyond August.

 

[Abdullahahmed]

Hi
I have been following this thread since the beginning..copr b4 18th march & expiry is end of August
My doubt is.. If the route via London was successful then why not thru Dubai? How can v board a VBM flight to London without a visa and why not to Dubai?
Any inputs?

 

[mage]

I had earlier contacted Hong Kong immigration department about transiting. Here's their response;

Thank you for contacting us.

We would like to inform you that air transit/transfer services at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) have resumed gradually. From 15 June 2020, passengers can use HKIA for transit/transfer on flights operated by different airlines under the same air ticket, provided that the passengers have checked through at the origin port with their boarding passes printed and baggage tagged-through to the final destination. Passengers should also confirm in advance that they are able to enter the final destination. However, transit/transfer services at HKIA to and from all Mainland China destinations are currently not available. Visa is not required for Indian nationals travelling to Hong Kong for a maximum stay of up to 14 days.

This is good news. I hope they open the travel via Hong Kong.
I don't see Cathay taking any tentative bookings on DEL-YVR route though, at least not for next few weeks.

 

[mage]

Hi
I have been following this thread since the beginning..copr b4 18th march & expiry is end of August
My doubt is.. If the route via London was successful then why not thru Dubai? How can v board a VBM flight to London without a visa and why not to Dubai?
Any inputs?

Route to Dubai requires extra permissions (ICA, GDRFA, etc.) by all airlines operating on this stretch. I know of two -
Air India Express: http://blog.airindiaexpress.in/india-uae-travel-update/
Emirates: https://www.emirates.com/in/english/help/travel-requirements/

Route to London is operated by Air India. They skimp on providing clear documentation (as mentioned above for UAE route) dedicated for every route (India to London is one such example) and technically their support staff doesn't provide any guarantees of tagging luggage all the way through, if you call them; it's just that their staff at airport counter is able to issue both boarding passes (my guess is that Air Canada likely doesn't have a dedicated counter & staff operating here, so they offload it to a partner airline in same alliance) and also both airlines decide to help passenger as well as their business.

As for the visa requirements, most of us may not need a transit visa for going through UK when we have an onward ticket and valid travel docs for Canada. You can check the exemptions of transit visa at the end of this wizard: https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa

Just my two cents on the matter.

 

[Abdullahahmed]

Thanks @mage for your detailed reply. Really appreciate.
Is there any other airline apart from AI that v can take to leave India in August?
I know Emirates is showing booking for 15th aug onwards but v cant possibly take that flight..

 

[nt13]

Guys and gals here, asking whether it’s safe / clear to proceed through VBM bookings via EUROPE / LONDON.. and the luggage tagging and all... I guess this we started this separate thread to clear such questions and more, just read few pages back and you’ll find a lot of discussion on this.

I have personally come across at least 4 cases who went via Europe and London.

And if it is any consolation, I have booked a VBM 5 to London myself for August departure !!

Let’s see how this goes ... all the best to all those who have genuinely decided to land ... against all odds !!

 

[SithLord]

Guys and gals here, asking whether it’s safe / clear to proceed through VBM bookings via EUROPE / LONDON.. and the luggage tagging and all... I guess this we started this separate thread to clear such questions and more, just read few pages back and you’ll find a lot of discussion on this.

I have personally come across at least 4 cases who went via Europe and London.

And if it is any consolation, I have booked a VBM 5 to London myself for August departure !!

Let’s see how this goes ... all the best to all those who have genuinely decided to land ... against all odds !!

How did you book tickets for VBM 5 London? It keeps showing sold out?

 

[Abdullahahmed]

Guys and gals here, asking whether it’s safe / clear to proceed through VBM bookings via EUROPE / LONDON.. and the luggage tagging and all... I guess this we started this separate thread to clear such questions and more, just read few pages back and you’ll find a lot of discussion on this.

I have personally come across at least 4 cases who went via Europe and London.

And if it is any consolation, I have booked a VBM 5 to London myself for August departure !!

Let’s see how this goes ... all the best to all those who have genuinely decided to land ... against all odds !!

It keeps showing sold out for all the dates. How did u book? Which date and how much for?

 

[pkhare23]

Guys and gals here, asking whether it’s safe / clear to proceed through VBM bookings via EUROPE / LONDON.. and the luggage tagging and all... I guess this we started this separate thread to clear such questions and more, just read few pages back and you’ll find a lot of discussion on this.

I have personally come across at least 4 cases who went via Europe and London.

And if it is any consolation, I have booked a VBM 5 to London myself for August departure !!

Let’s see how this goes ... all the best to all those who have genuinely decided to land ... against all odds !!

What's the date you booked ?? From Delhi or from Mumbai ?? Delhi to London has ample time to take same day connection to Canada with mumbai London it's a paper thin margin even a small delay can cause you to miss the next flight.

Yes it is clear and safe to proceed with booking going via London or EU ( only Frankfurt I know off can't say anything about Paris ) ..

 

[nt13]

How did you book tickets for VBM 5 London? It keeps showing sold out?

Air India App .. it showed sold out on web as well as app..! But I kept refreshing ... and I got it through. However, that was in the afternoon today ... around 2.15-2.30 pm immediately after they opened the window.

 

[nt13]

It keeps showing sold out for all the dates. How did u book? Which date and how much for?

Just replied how I booked. Booked for 25th August.. prices are flat .. somewhere around 39-40k INR per person.

 

[nt13]

What's the date you booked ?? From Delhi or from Mumbai ?? Delhi to London has ample time to take same day connection to Canada with mumbai London it's a paper thin margin even a small delay can cause you to miss the next flight.

Yes it is clear and safe to proceed with booking going via London or EU ( only Frankfurt I know off can't say anything about Paris ) ..

Yes, hence I booked since we have been discussing this for more than 10 days like!! Thanks for starting this thread and the discussions. Owe you a full crate of beer for this whenever we catch up in Canada!

I have booked Delhi - London, gives us 6 hours at LHR. Mumbai-London is highly risky .. Air India might easily get delayed by an hour or 2.

Also, Air India and Air Canada are operating from Terminal 2 at Heathrow London. So no issue of changing the Terminal.

 

[pkhare23]

Yes, hence I booked since we have been discussing this for more than 10 days like!! Thanks for starting this thread and the discussions. Owe you a full crate of beer for this whenever we catch up in Canada!

I have booked Delhi - London, gives us 6 hours at LHR. Mumbai-London is highly risky .. Air India might easily get delayed by an hour or 2.

Also, Air India and Air Canada are operating from Terminal 2 at Heathrow London. So no issue of changing the Terminal.

... Once we all reach Canada safely we will have a get-together to celebrate ...

Thanks mate I hope you reach Canada safely admist this chaos.

 

[mage]

Came across an interesting snippet in a news article: https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/international-flights-explained-why-indias-planned-air-bubbles-are-not-exactly-that-6511628/

“Things have opened up compared with before but someone can travel only if they do not face any visa restrictions, etc. Every nation has a different policy, which is not under our purview. These airlines can carry transit passengers, and we are enabling and facilitating it,” the government official said

No name or identity provided for this official. But this is probably why AI staff is able to help passengers on separate bookings. I doubt if foreign carriers are unaware of it; they probably just want to play it safe, perhaps due to absence of written official guidelines on the topic.