Indan CivilAviationRules: Arrival & Departure MUST be by the same Charter Flight/Co,?

Indian Charted Flight Rules: Arrival and Departure must be by the same Charter flight/Co.?

Looks like I am missing on something.

The only thing I knew or heard of a rule where tourists were not permitted to stay longer than 3 weeks (or 4 weeks?) if arrived by Charter flights. (?)

Can any one throw some more light on the rules or the below incidence?

Else where in the news (TOI), it was also reported that
- She had no Indian money so she had to rush nearest Foreign Exchange counter to get Indian currency
- She did not complain at the airport as she had to leave on the same day since her visa was expiring soon.
- She wrote/complain to the Goa Police from UK to take action against the officer.

Quote:

PANAJI: Even as Goa is working hard to promote itself as a tourist friendly destination, a British passport holder has complained that an immigration department official demanded and took a $100 bribe to permit her to board a charter flight earlier this month.

In her complaint to SP (immigration) Tony Fernandes, British citizen Fatima Fernandes alleged that though she had a valid air ticket, on March 7, 2010, an immigration official at Dabolim airport asked for a bribe of $100 to allow her to board the charter flight to UK. Fatima said she was allowed to board the flight only after she paid the money in Indian currency to a PSI in the immigration department. Following the complaint, the police have issued the PSI a memo and sought to know why disciplinary action shouldn’t be initiated against him.

Confirming the incident, SP Fernandes said, “I have sought an explanation from the PSI and am awaiting his reply.” Fatima had arrived in Goa on February 5 by a Monarch charter flight from UK and had a return ticket for March 7 by a Thomson flight.

“There was a problem as the Director General Civil Aviation (DGCA) rules make it mandatory for foreign tourists arriving in the country by a charter operator’s flight to return by the same operator’s flight. In this case, the UK citizen had arrived by a Monarch flight, but was returning to UK by a Thomson flight. This can’t be permitted if one goes strictly by the rules. However, the rules were reportedly bent by the officer on duty after taking a bribe of $100,” police sources said

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...ow/5737060.cms

If the rules were indeed bent and the passenger travelled on another company's charter flight aginst the rule, as per Indian law both are accountable. Giving & accepting bribe both are offense.

an understand you being puzzled Joe, but yes this idiotic and pointless rule does exist and has done for some time, and is very difficult to get around. Would love to know why it exists though, and what imbecile came up with it?

I suspect that it is to protect regular commercial airlines.

Looks like the 'bribe' thing was going on all the time at the Goa Airport.

Yes, specifically Air India. This rule, and the one regarding the length of stay permissible on a charter flight, date from the "bad old days" when the Indian government put various restrictions in place to try to "persuade" people to fly with Air India, which it owned.

Poeple have a lot more choice of airlines these days, so it has gradually become less of an issue, but the rules are still there and if you are unfortunate, you can still come across an official who is eager to enforce them, as in this case.

This is probably to prevent what is known as bucket sales. If a chartered flight has few seats vaccant it can choose to sale these seats at throw away prices.

I know many come to Goa buying just one way from UK on Charter flt (even I did). I wonder what airline they fly back?

I bought o/w by diff. charter and I had no problem. But this was 2-3 years ago

According to the (inconsistently enforced) rules you can fly into India on a charter and out of India on a scheduled flight, but cannot fly into India on a scheduled flight and out of India on a charter.

This is a DGCA directive. There might be an implied protection, but there are other factors such as preventing altu-faltu carriers start and end abruptly. In aviation world, Tower Air fiasco is well known; Indian Govt. does not want thousands of stranded tourists in Goa should a charter fail and their airplanes seized.

Here is the directive - http://dgca.nic.in/operator/nonsch-ind.htm

update:
The officer (Dabolim Airport) is now suspended.
But in Goa suspension could mean 'sending an officer on a paid leave' because we only read about the 'suspension' and not the re-instatement or the outcome of the investigation.

Recently, another officer Dy. Collector was suspended for corruption, Next we read that the same one serving as Dy. Col. at different palce in Goa.

Looks like it is part of the trip, when visiting India, if we have to keep bribing the Custom officers, the police, the immagration officers, the touts and who ever begs for it, (did I miss anyone).

If the lady is not going to be there to testify in court, there is the possibility that the immigration officer will not be brought to trial. The culprit(s) know this and use this to his or their advantage

How do the immigration officials know what airline you arrived on? When flying out of India, I've never been asked about this. If it's from your embarkation card, what is to stop you from saying you arrived on a scheduled flight?

Is this purely a Goa thing?

*sigh* Only in India...

It may not be a "purely Goan thing" but would only be relevant at airports where charters arrive, and there aint many of them in India.

There is only one scheduled airline flying into Goa, and they only started recently.
Before that, up to about a year ago SriLankan was the only one but they gave up.
The present solitary scheduled carrier, if I remember rightly, only operates a few flights per week via Qatar.
So not quite so easy to tell porkies once they see that you entered India at Goa!

Most of the hordes, including all the vast number of Russians arrive by charter, and one of their companies uses old Jumbos! Last year on arrival, I was greeted by two of them on the tiny apron at Dabolim........

Although the airport is a poxy little third rate dump, the runway is very long to allow the ageing "Bear" bombers to lumber their way skyward, and they of course, also originate in Russia!