With a recent media reports indicating that direct passenger flight services between India and China are unlikely to resume unless Beijing makes changes in its policy of sudden cancellation of scheduled flights whenever passengers test positive for Covid on arrival in Chinese airports, Indian students who have taken admissions in Chinese universities primarily for medicine are already making their plans to go to the East Asian country through alternative routes.
More than 23,000 Indian students have made China their preferred study destination but with the latter’s stringent restrictions on travelling to and from the country coupled with a quarantine policy, the journey remains impossible.
Indian students make their way to "Fragrant Harbour"
Reeba Khan, who is a medical student hailing from the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, has already booked her flight tickets to Hong Kong where she will have a three-day stay before boarding another plane to China.
“I am travelling to Hong Kong and have already booked a hotel room which costs me INR 20,000, which is cheaper compared to countries like Sri Lanka where the cost is going up to INR 1,70,000 for some students apart from the expenses in the country,” said Reeba, who is travelling to the Chinese special administrative region along with 11 other students hailing from states across India.
Before the Covid pandemic, students were able to avail of direct flights to China by spending Rs.16,000 but the uncertainty-infused decision to make use of third routes has proved to be costly for them.
“There are many who have taken education loans to fund their studies in China who want to continue offline education in the country but in light of the current situation, they are also in a position where they will have to spend more than a lakh to make that journey through other routes,” Reeba, a final year student of Hubei University, added.
Quarantine not a breeze for students anymore
For some quarantine is an issue that goes hand in hand with exuberant costs, as rising Covid cases across mainland China have prompted action from the authorities who are throwing everything but the kitchen sink to curb the spread.
427 new symptomatic Covid cases were reported on Monday across 20 of China’s province-level regions, data that doesn’t help the cause of Indian students.
“We have to follow the Covid policies of not just China but also the transit country, which can in some cases last up to two weeks. Moreover, the travel agencies are taking full advantage of this situation and providing packages to students which range from 1.5 to 2.5 lakhs which is the tuition fees of a semester of most of the students,” said Rachita Kurmi, a 4th-year student from Shandong University.
Aviation majors have contradictory stances, according to sources
An Air India official, on condition of anonymity, said that they don’t have a ‘landing clearance’ as of yet from Chinese authorities while on the other hand a mail accessed by the Free Press Journal from an official working with the China-based China Southern Airlines Company says that it is willing to arrange chartered flights for Indian students, costs of which could exceed 10,000 Renminbi (Approximately INR 115,000) albeit permission from Indian authorities is a must for such a move.
Diplomats reiterate 'all is well' amid reports
Chinese officials in India have expressed hope for the improvement of the situation citing Indian and Chinese authorities' ability to work, talk, and negotiate about direct flights between the two Asian powers. “I am not sure about the current progress of the situation but there’s constant collaboration on the issue of direct flights between the two countries. Back in August, we had promising news about air travel between Mumbai to Chongqing but that was revoked due to some circumstances,” said an official from the General Consulate of China in Mumbai, who maintained the stance that the PRC has always facilitated air travel between the nations.
The expectation of more delay in the resumption comes amid the Ministry of External Affairs' statement at a media briefing, on Friday, that the process for the return of Indian students to China is underway.
"Our mission in Beijing continued to press and pursue the Chinese side to complete the necessary formalities to enable Indian students to return to China at an early date," said MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi at the briefing. "I would advise the students to stay in touch with their universities for carrying out procedures for obtaining their visa and returning to China. Our mission and consulates in China stand ready to respond to students' requests for advice or facilitation to the best of their capabilities,” Mr. Bagchi further added.
