The European Union has banned flights from India as the number of cases in India is rising, Arvind Singh, Chairman, Airports Authority of India (AAI) said on Thursday adding that the development comes even as India is looking to establish a travel bubble with various parts of the world including the Gulf, the US, Canada and Europe.

“The EU has now banned flights from India due to rising cases, but I am sure there will be a positive outcome on talks with the US, Canada and the Gulf. Negotiations are going on,” Singh said in a webinar organised by GMR titled “Reposing the faith in flying: Unlocking international travel.”

Singh added that India is looking at having bilateral agreements with Germany and France, both of which are EU members, to allow French and German carriers to operate to India.

Talking about the Gulf region, Singh said that lots of charters were being operated by carriers from both the sides. “I think talks are going on to allow those Indians who are permitted to go to the Gulf. A decision could come soon,” he said.

On June 23 the Ministry of Civil Aviation announced that India was looking at the prospect of establishing individual bilateral bubbles between various countries including the UK, France, German and the US.

Talking about airport privatisation, the AAI Chairman said that the AAI Board has recommended leasing out six additional airports including Trichy, Raipur, Amritsar and Indore and has sought the approval of the Cabinet, which could come this month itself. “After this, bidding for these airports will start,” he said.

From the earlier round of bidding, a letter of award has been issued for three airports — Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Lucknow. “For Guwahati, Thiruvanthapuram and Jaipur, we expect a decision this month,” he added.

Turning his attention to domestic flying which restarted on May 25, he said over 2 million passengers had already flown with about 70,000 passengers flying daily; about 800 flights a day were being operated currently.

Amitabh Khosla, Country Director, India, International Air Transport Association (IATA), said that 2.9 million jobs could be at risk in aviation and related sectors in India as a result of Covid-19.