On April 27, Australia announced a temporary pause on direct passenger flights from India to Australia for two weeks. From May 3, citizens and residents who had been in India were banned from returning to Australia; those who disobeyed the rule would face fines up to 66,600 AUD and jail time up to 5 years.
On May 15, government-chartered repatriation flights will begin for Australians returning from India. There will be 3 flights offered between May 15 and the end of June, with one flight offered every 7-9 days, for an estimated 1,000 Australians total. The most vulnerable Australians will be prioritized for these select flights.
Passengers will be required to provide a negative COVID-19 Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test and a negative Rapid Antigen test before boarding.