Canada had suspended direct flights from India on April 22. But despite the cost and the lengthy journey involved, several overseas students from Punjab are re-routing their travel to Canada via Moscow, Mexico, Serbia, Qatar, Dubai among other countries. At several international airports, they are required to stay for a day to get their RT-PCR done which is apart from the requirement of being vaccinated against Covid-19 before starting the journey from home.
“Canada has extended its ban on direct passenger flights from India until September 21 amid the South Asian country's enduring struggles to contain the spread of COVID-19 within its borders,” Transport Canada said.
"Based on the latest public health advice from the Public Health Agency of Canada, Transport Canada is extending the Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) that restricts all direct commercial and private passenger flights to Canada from India until September 21, 2021, at 23:59 EDT," the department said in a statement.
“If a student tests positive then they will have to stay in those countries till they get the negative report after the treatment which is even more costly but students are taking all the risks to reach Canada,’’ said student Ramneek.
“But we have no other option because Canadian government is extending the ban on direct travelling quite often as earlier it was till July end and now this has been extended to August end. In such a situation it is better to re-route the travel rather than sitting here and taking online classes,” said another student Harpreet Singh, who got a one-way ticket for Rs 1.20 lakh and will spend nearly Rs 60,000 on his stay before entering Canada.
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In normal times, the ticket to Canada costs around Rs 50,000.
“Even after getting double dose and RT-PCR from the country of our stay on the way, when we land in Canada, we are asked to quarantine further,” said another student who reached Canada recently.
The ban was first imposed on April 22 and has already been rolled over several times. It is the fifth time the ban has been extended.