Five students, five airports, 70 hours: A journey from Kolkata to Canada amid India's flight ban
The group landed in Canada at 6 p.m. local time on August 27, Friday, when it was 3:45 a.m. in India.
One of the most significant impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic has been on international travel. While almost all countries require a negative RT PCR report for entry, many have decided to prohibit and ban direct flights from certain countries. Canada being on this list as it prohibited direct flights from India. Many Indian students and professionals now travel to the country for study or work, and the embargo has created a new barrier.
As it's said, 'Where there is a will, there's a way,' a new taxing route was devised to overcome this obstacle. A Group of Five students from Kolkata who needed to return to their university in Canada traveled for more than 70 hours through two countries to get there. The detour not only added hours to the journey but also increased the travel cost to nearly $4,092.16 from $886.63.