It’s been months since Canada implemented a ban on direct flights from India. This measure was taken by the Canadian government to insure the safety of its citizens from the recent COVID-19 mutations, especially the Delta and Delta-plus variant that have been detected in India.
The second wave of COVID in India was deadly, but the situation has improved a lot since then. After the Canadian government imposed the ban on direct flights on April 22, many Canadian citizens of Indian origin and other international students have been travelling by going through a third country.
It sounds like a good plan but it’s not easy as it sounds. For months, Indian students studying at Canadian colleges have been trying their best to reach Canada for the upcoming in-person classes in fall.
The whole process is really stressful. There have been consistent flight cancellations and people have lost their money. The third route is not always safe because every country keeps revising their travel rules and restrictions.
Recently, when students and citizens were travelling through Serbia as a third country, they suddenly imposed quarantine restrictions for tourists without any prior warning. It resulted in chaos, and many people were stranded there.
Travelling like this also potentially exposes us to COVID. Still, I’ve decided to travel through a third country as there was another extension of the direct-flight ban. My classes are in person and they start in September. I don’t have any other option but to travel. I decided to travel via Qatar since they are allowing fully vaccinated individuals to enter.
Direct flights would cost about $1,500 before the travel ban but travelling via an indirect route costs between $2,500 and $3,000. Not everyone is capable of spending that kind of amount; most of the Indian students take out a loan, with extremely high interest rates, to study abroad. So much for our Canadian dream.
Personally, I’ve never thought that the Canadian government made any wrong decisions back then during the second wave in India. However, many countries are opening up to Indian citizens now. I will always respect the government’s decision, as they only want what’s good for its citizens, but we want to be heard too.
These past few months have not been easy for anybody. I got my flight cancelled once already. This second time I booked it again, spending almost $2,000, and now I have to obtain a visa, book a hotel in Qatar, and stay there until I get my test report there.
I can’t even afford to be optimistic now, because we never know when Qatar will start implementing quarantine for Indian citizens.
I hope that things get easier for those who want to travel soon. Maybe we won’t have to suffer much when the vaccination rates get a bit higher. For now, it all just feels like some far-fetched dream; it’s like I have food on my table and I can’t eat.