The Ministry of Civil Aviation(MoCA) recently cleared the air that passengers who are planning to travel do not need to apply through MoCA website and can directly book their tickets on the respective airlines' portal.
A standard operating protocol issued by the Home Ministry on August 22 stated that persons eligible to travel on outbound flights “will apply to MoCA or an agency/agencies designated by MoCA for this purpose with necessary details, including places of departure & arrival."
However, the ministry informed on Twitter that it has “designated all the airlines operating under Vande Bharat Mission & air transport bubble arrangements as designated agencies for this purpose. Passengers may book tickets directly with the airlines concerned. They need not apply/register with the Ministry of Civil Aviation."
Although commercial passenger flights on international routes have been suspended since the national lockdown came into effect on March 23, the Union government has been operation special repatriation flights with state-run Air India under Vande Bharat Mission via bilateral air bubble arrangements with other nations.
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Since July this year, India has signed separate bilateral air bubble arrangements with various countries like the US, the UK, the UAE, Germany, France and Qatar. Under a bilateral bubble pact, airlines of both the countries can operate special international passenger flights with certain restrictions.