This details ways to search for options to fly back from India to Canada during the second wave of the pandemic with travel bans. This booklet also explains what else to look out for including refund policies and recourse you may have if cancellations occur.

1. TRAVEL TIPS FOR RESEARCHING
OPTIONS TO FLY BACK FROM
INDIA TO CANADA
Swati Sharan
MAY 4, 2021
Swati_Sharanca@yahoo.ca

2. Table of Contents
(Click Ctrl + Put Cursor on Link to Jump to Wanted Page)
Background
How to FindA Way Back to Canada
ReviewingRefundand Change Policiesand Other Recourse
Background
Since the onsetof the pandemic’ssecondwave inIndia,there have beenmanytravel bansbeing
proposedforIndia. Andtheytendtohappenall of a sudden. Sothese are some tipstohelp those
strandedinIndiafindoutwhichcountriestheycan go throughto flyback to Canada inthe most up
to datedmanner.
Atthe currenttime,myadvice topeople isthatif theydon’tneedto rush,don’tbother.Here’s
why.In June,Canadaisexpectingalarge numberof vaccinessothat may ease things.The second
pointisthat the U.S. is a highlycommercial nationsothey aren’tgoingtobanIndiafor toolong
because of theirdependence onbothIndianresourcesandworkers. Soitmaybecome a good
transitpointinthe future. The thirdpointisthatthe EU countriesare alsotryingto allow forfully
vaccinatedtravellers soif people gotstartedongettingtheirvaccinesinIndianow,theymightbe
able to travel bythe nextmonth.Othercountriesmayalsocome up withmore waysto
accommodate travelerswhoare Canadianresidentsinthe comingtime.
For those whoare rushingback because of a possibilityof theirstatusexpiring,the Canadian
governmentwilllikelybe understandingandextenditwithoutmuchhassle.Infact,manypeople
have beengrantedextensionsbecause of the delaythe pandemichascausedinthe lastwhile.This
isbecause generallyCanadiansare accommodatingforthingslike this.Plus,the currentLiberal
governmenthasa targetto have overone millionimmigrantsoverthe nextcoupleof yearsasa way
to boostthe economy.Andtheyare nowhere neartheirgoal because of the pandemicsoyour
chancesof maintainingthatstatusare veryhigh.Once people qualifyinthe Canadiansystem,they
tendto getabsorbedas of now.Some yearsdownthe road, I don’tknow what will be.Butfornow,
it's notan issue.
The otherthingto notget perturbedoveristhe political andmediadramainCanada. Those who
are travelingare becomingscapegoatsbecause of the manyinadequacies inthe system. The biggest
thinghas been the governmentbeingata lossforvaccinesthoughwe have some of the top medical
researchersinthe world.Initsfrenzytooutsource everythingfromventilatorstovaccines,we have
beenleftwithlimitedresourcesfornoreasonotherthanbecause of the government’sprior
mishandlings.So the differentpolitical leadersare now shiftingthe blame inotherdirections.
Thisrangesfromblamingyoungpeople forpartyingtoimmigrant lifestylesorthose travelingfrom
outside of Canada.Some youngpeople eventweetedthatit’snotyoungpeople partyingthat’sthe
problem.It’sthat manyyoungpeople are forcedtotake onlow-payingfront-line jobsforwhich
there isno paidsickleave andtheyare forcedtolive inhousingwithmultiple people becausethe
rentis so highandhas onlygottenworse since the pandemicasCanadianshita buyingfrenzy.And
due to these verylacksof sustainable opportunities andsoaringreal estate,manypeopleof color

3. are alsoperpetuatedintothissituationof livinginasmall space withmultiplepeople orin multi-
generational familiesandbeingatworkplaceswhere peoplehave tophysicallyhave contactwith
volumesof people.
So whensomeone like thisgetshit,theyalsodon’thave accesstopaidsickleave somanydon’ttake
it until theydon’tjustfall down.Thisfurthercreatesariskof infectingmore people.Boththe federal
and provincial governmenthave beenfindingwaystoavertthe publicmovementforpaidsickleave
because manyof these leadersare backedbybigbusinesswhodon’twantto supportsuch worker
benefits.
There isalsothe matter of long-termcare homeswhere mostelderlypeople were living.A lotof
the covidinfectionsspreadthroughthere because of the poorlycompensatedcaretakerswhowere
made to go fromplace to place because the long-termcare companieswouldunder-employthem
eitherinpayor throughsuch little hoursthatsuch kindsof people were thengoingbetweenmany
placesto supportthemselves.
There are alsothe lockdowns andpeople are goingmadbeinginisolationfromothers.Many
people have gone outof businessandlostjobs.Othershave profiteeredlike madespeciallyinthe
real estate arena. Andthat unfortunatelyhasalsohada huge immigrantcomponenttoitbecause
much of Canada’sreal estate ison the backs of immigrantswithlotsof money.
Many of themland inCanada eitherwithoutaproperjobor are in highlywell-to-dojobsandthen
theybuyup propertiesfortop dollarasan investmentanddrive the pricesbeyondwhatlocalscan
afford.Thisthenfeedsthe fire of resentmentamongstmanylocalsbecause theyhavebeenhit
badly. The alreadyunder-fundedhospitalsystemhas alsobeenchokedupbadly.The systemwason
crutchesbefore.Nowit’sina wheelchair.Sothe pointis thatthe politiciansare tryingtodeflect
fromthe real issue because theydon’twantthe publicgangingupontheirdoors.
Asfor the Ontariopleato the federal governmentto have tougherlandbordercrossinglaws from
the U.S. to Canada to keeppeoplefromenteringthatway,Trudeauhasalreadycounteredthis.
(Landbordercrossinglawsare lesstoughcurrently) Thisisbothbecause alot of snowbirds(those
CanadianswhoflySouthto the U.S. or warmercountriesforthe winter) fromQuebecsupporthim
and because of twootherpoints.One isthat whenpeople travelthroughland,theyare goingby
cars whichcontainlesspeople sothe riskof spreadingislow.The otheristhat those inthe U.S. have
protocol to followsowhydouble thiswhenthe personentersCanada?
Inessence, there isnothingtogetalarmedabout.Assomeone recentlysaidaboutpoor public
management,‘Electaclown.Expectacircus.’ AndI wouldadd,‘Enjoythe act but don’treact.’
If,however,youneedtotravel backassoon as possible,thenhere are some tips. Foranyqueries
or comments,Ican be reachedat Swati_Sharanca@yahoo.ca.

4. How to Find A Way Back to Canada
1. Type travel ban India+(name of countryyou are interestedingoingthroughtogetto Canada) in
the google searchbar. E.g. travel banIndia+ Thailand
You may come across some newsabouttravel.Pressthe Newslinkonthe topof the screennear
ImagesandVideoto knowthe latest.
2. Visitwww.skyscanner.co.in andthenpressthe optionof countryinthe middle of the screento
knowwhattravel requirementsare inplace withthatcountry youare interestedingoing
through.
3. Also,visithttps://www.iatatravelcentre.com/world.php tomake sure the informationis
accurate. I findthiswebsitetobe more datedinnewsand more user-friendlybecauseyoucan
clickon the picture of the mapanywhere toknow whatrequirementsare there instantaneously.
Anddon’tjustlookat the tripsfromIndiato the middle countrylike Qataras an example.Find
out alsoaboutrequirementstogofromQatar to Canada. Aswell,see inyoursearchwhat
countriesyoumayneedto go throughto go fromQatar to Canada to make sure that youare
allowedasanIndiannational togo throughat this time andif there are anyvisarequirements
for this.
4. To make sure that Canada’srelationsare alsogoodwiththat country you are goingthrough or if
the country isphysicallyorpoliticallysafe foryoutotravel throughor if there are otherthingsto
worryabout,visitwww.travel.gc.ca/destinations/country (typeinname of countryyouare
planningtoflythrough).E.g. www.travel.gc.ca/destinations/Greece
5. Planout yourtrip basedonpossible costsyouhave toface while goingthrough.Keepmarginsof
errorsbecause youdon’tknowwhat can happenandwhat happensif youtestpositive
somewhere? Aswell,be mindfulthatonce youreach Canada,youhave many rulestofollow
withhuge costsattached tothem.One of themincludesquarantiningfor3days at a
governmentapprovedhotel costingabout$1000 perpersonand thengoinghome for
quarantine andthenpayingforcovidtests.Youmay not getthe results forthe firsttestwithin2
daysof beinginthe hotel because the systemisoverloadedsobudgetforanextranight
possibly. Visitthisforthe latestupdatesasruleskeepchangingandgothroughthe checklist
here to make sure all isgood. https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/flying-canada-
checklist
These include ticketcosts,testingcosts,hotel stayintransitif youdo testpositive,quarantine
requirementcosts. (E.g.inCanada,a PCR testmightbe about $224 or $1000 for3 daysfor 1
personandmaybe some discountif youare a familyoryou are people livingatthe same
address) It’salsoworthnotingthatthere have beenmanypeople whoorderedfoodfrom
outside andpaidforthat too because the foodwasnot vegetarianorculturallyrelevant.
6. Some helpful websitesforestimatingcostsof tripsinclude www.hotels.com,www.booking.com
for hotel stays. www.travelocity.caorwww.expedia.caorwww.kayak.com maybe goodfor

5. estimatingairfare coststhoughitmaybe bestto ultimatelypurchase fromanairline directly
because of bothrates andrefundpolicies.
Reviewing Refund and Change Policies and Other Recourse
7. Once you have foundouteverythingisfine,make sure tofindoutwhatrefundpoliciesare like
for yourtrip andhotel stayin case you needtochange or cancel yourticketor stay.Don’t get
suckedinby cheapdeals.If forsome reason,thingsdon’thappenlike youthinktheyshould,you
couldbe incurringgreatexpenses.
8. Evenwithindomestictravel,be careful whoyoubookwith forflightsbecause inIndia,it’seven
harderto get yourmoneyback andthere tendto be loopholesinhow refundshappen.Oryou
may notevengetthroughon the phone.It’sbestto bookwiththe actual airline incase things
don’thappenlike youthinktheyshould. Forhotel deals,youcantry siteslike www.yatra.com,
www.easemytrip.com,www.bookings.com,www.hotels.com,www.goibibo.com ,
www.makemytrip.com, www.cleartrip.com orwww.happyeasygo.com
9. Keepreadingthe newstofindthe latestaboutthe countriesyouare due to travel throughto
make sure all is well.
10. If you shouldneedtomake anyrefundsorchangesand the companyyou are dealingwithis
beingdifficult,youcanalsotry initiatingachargebackon to your creditcard. Butyou needtotry
doingthisas soonas you can. There are many people overthislastyearwhomIhave seen
gettinghassledbecause theypaidcashto a travel agentthinkingtheygota deal.Butwhen
thingsdon’thappenlike youthinktheyshould,thenitbecomesmessy. Forothermethodsof
recourse forinternational traveldependingon whichairlineisinvolved,youcanalsotry visiting
the FacebookgroupAirPassengerRights https://www.facebook.com/groups/441903102682254
or www.airpassengerrights.ca.The groupisextremelyhelpful anddoestheirbesttohelp
everyone thoughitmaynotalwaysbe possible.
Anotherthingtoconsideristhat if a refunddoesn’thappen,seeif youhave anytravel insurance
coverage throughyourcreditcard company or yourworkplace orstudentunion.Thismayalso
helpyoucoversome of the costsyou have incurred.