Kolkata: Travel agents in the city have been flooded with phone calls from clients since Monday evening, urgently requesting tickets to be booked so that they can visit their loved ones in the United States at the earliest.
While the requests should have been greeted with smiles by agents who have hardly had any business from international travel, it has actually left them harried as most flights are either full or commanding more than double the regular fare.
“Most of the flights scheduled between India and the US are either chock-a-block or the return fares have hit the roof. For those wanting to travel from India to the US, the two-way fare is Rs 1 lakh-Rs 1.5 lakh. Earlier, the return fare was around Rs 70,000. For those living in the US and wanting to visit India, the return fare is even higher at Rs 1.5 lakh-Rs 2 lakh. Earlier, this two-way fare was around Rs 1 lakh. As demand soars following the removal of travel restrictions to the US, it is increasingly becoming difficult to service the requests,” pointed out Manav Soni who operates Exclusive Travels and is the eastern region chairman of Travel Agents’ Association of India.
While only those holding business visa or requiring emergency travel between the US and India were allowed to do so, now all categories of visa holders will be able to travel provided they are fully vaccinated and tests negative in RT-PCR test conducted within 72 hours prior to travel.
10/11/21 Subhro Niyogi/Times of India
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