Latest Information on Travelling to Andaman Islands?

Runway Status for Port Blair Airport From October,22 to February, 23

Updated: 19 Sep 2022

From	To	Status
18-Oct	21-Oct	Closed
22-Oct	31-Oct	Operational
01-Nov	04-Nov	Closed
05-Nov	14-Nov	Operational
15-Nov	18-Nov	Closed
19-Nov	28-Nov	Operational
29-Nov	02-Dec	Closed
03-Dec	12-Dec	Operational
13-Dec	16-Dec	Closed
17-Dec	26-Dec	Operational
27-Dec	30-Dec	Closed
31-Dec	09-Jan	Operational
10-Jan	13-Jan	Closed
14-Jan	23-Jan	Operational
24-Jan	27-Jan	Closed
28-Jan	06-Feb	Operational
07-Feb	10-Feb	Closed
11-Feb	20-Feb	Operational

Andaman Tourism Opens
Updated: 14 Aug 2021

Andaman Tourism Opens: The Andaman & Nicobar administration has announced that all tourist spots in the South Andaman district will be opened for tourism activities with immediate effect 8 Feb 2022.
RT PCR report on arrival
Updated: 14 Aug 2021

A negative RT PCR report has to be presented by all passengers on arrival.
What is the advisory to travel to North & Middle Andaman District?
Updated: 14 Aug 2021

The tourists are allowed to visit Baratang/North & Middle Andaman on production of double dose covid certificate/ All other passengers viz. unvaccinated and partially vaccinated passengers (those who have taken only 1S1 dose of COVID vaccine) shall have to produce RT-PCR negative test report

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All asymptomatic fully vaccinated persons coming to these islands from mainland are exempted from the requirement of carrying RT-PCR negative test report,irrespective of the type of vaccine received and country of origin. Such fullyvaccinated individuals shall produce the final vaccination certificate at the origin airport, sea port in the mainland and at Port Blair Airport / sea port.
Alt asymptomatic children below 5 years of age are exempted from carrying RT-PCR negative test report and further RT-PCR testing at Port Blair Airport.
All other passengers viz. unvaccinated and partially vaccinated passengers (those who have taken only 1S1 dose of COVID vaccine) shall have to produce RT-PCR negative test report to travel to Port Blair from the mainland, as is the practice now. Such an RT-PCR test should have been taken within 48 hours prior to commencement of journey from the origin airport connecting Port Blair. Such passengers will also have to undergo additional RT-PCR test on arrival at Port Blair. Such passengers shall remain in self-quarantine till the arrival of the test report.
If a passenger on arrival is tested positive then, the prescribed quarantine protocol is to be followed.
All Airlines shall ensure strict compliance of this order and observance of COVID Appropriate Behaviour. Any non-compliance shall invite action under Disaster Management Act and other applicable laws.

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General Guidelines defined for traveling to Andaman Islands during COVID :

The Tourism Activities are permitted only in South Andaman & North & Middle Andaman District except Nicobar District.
Persons above 65 years of age, persons with home co-morbidities, pregnant women and children below the age of 10 years advised not to travel for tourism purposes.
Tourists/Visitors who are at higher risk due to some medical history are advised to take extra precautions.
Tourists/visitors shall minimize contact with other staff and visitors as far as possible and zero contact policy should be followed at all tourist destinations.
All tourists/visitors shall be briefed by the hotel concerned about do’s & don’ts to be mandatorily followed during their stay and movements.
While travelling tourists/visitors should wear a face mask and carry their own sanitizer and wet wipes for personal use.
At all tourist destinations, staff must wear face masks and wash/sanitize hands regularly while performing their duties.
Arogya Setu App shall be mandatory for all incoming tourists/visitors.
Respiratory etiquettes to be strictly followed. This involves strict practice of covering one’s mouth and nose while coughing/sneezing with a tissue handkerchief/flexed elbow and disposing off used tissues properly after use.
The tourists/visitors on arrival at Port Blair airport have to undergo mandatory Covid-19 screening with RTPCR test free of cost. Thereafter the tourists/ visitors are allowed to move to their respective hotels. However, they will have to be under quarantine at Port Blair in their hotel rooms until the result of RTPCR tests are received. In case of RTPCR positive test results, the tourists/visitors shall remain in institutional quarantine in hotels notified by the Hoteliers Association in consent with the A&%N Administration, on rate as specified or to the designated hospital/ Covid 19 care centre on case to case basis.

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What are the guidelines for testing for tourists coming to Andaman after August 03 2021?

On arrival at Port Blair :

1. The tourists need to carry COVID-19 negative test report from mainland based 1CMR approved lab using Reverse Transcriptase-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RTPCR). However, the sample for RTPCR test should have been taken within 48 hours prior to starting the journey from the origin station. (For e.g. if the tourist takes a flight from Delhi at 0600 hrs. on 1st September, 2021, the sample for RTPCR test should have been taken not before 0600 hrs. on 30th August, 2021).

2. The tourists/visitors on arrival at Port Blair airport have to undergo mandatory Covid-19 screening with RTPCR test free of cost. Thereafter the tourists/visitors are allowed to move to their respective hotels. However, they will have to be under quarantine at Port Blair in their hotel rooms until the result of RTPCR tests are received. In case of RTPCR positive test results, the tourists/visitors shall remain in
institutional quarantine in hotels notified by the Hoteliers Association in consent with the A&N Administration, on rates as specified or to the designated hospital/ Covid-19 care centre on case-to-case basis.

3. Tourists may also have to undergo random Rapid Antigen Test conducted from time to time on payment basis as prescribed by A8N Administration.

What if the tourists test positive after arriving at the Andaman Islands?

If the tourists tests positive during their stay in the Islands, he/she will need to undergo institutional isolation as per existing health protocols. The
cost of such isolation for govt. facility will be paid by the tourists as fixed by the administration from time to time.

If the patient wants to stay at hotels, he/she can stay in the hotels if all the conditions below are met:

a) Patients are not symptomatic and not more than 60 years old.
b) Request/ undertaking is made by patient in writing.
c)lf allowed by doctors.

Hotels will make necessary arrangements to designate a part of their rooms for institutional isolation for this purpose.

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Regular flights to Port Blair (the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands) are operational now.
There are direct flights from Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, and Delhi.
Public transports like cabs, taxis, and bus services are also functional.

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Travellers should carefully follow social distancing norms and wear masks as well. Also, before making any booking, they should refer to the latest travel news on the government website of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

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Geography of Andaman Islands

Date : 05 Nov 2020

Categories: Travel Guide

Andaman and Nicobar Islands, considered a union territory in India, consists of two groups of islands. The islands located north of 10° north latitude are known as Andaman Islands while the islands located south of 10° north latitude are called Nicobar. These islands were formed by the above-sea extensions of submarine crests of mountains. The Andaman–Nicobar Islands archipelago is the emergent part of a long ridge which extends from the Arakan–Yoma ranges of western Myanmar (Burma) in the north to Sumatra in the south.

The archipelago adjoins the Andaman Islands Sea to the east, and the west by the Bay of Bengal. A 160 km wide submarine channel running parallel to the 10° N latitude between Car Nicobar and Little Andaman Islands, known as Ten Degree Channel, is a major physiographic discontinuity that separates the Andaman Islands Group to the north from the Nicobar Group to the south. The Andaman Islands Group, located c. 1200 km south-east of the mainland in the Bay of Bengal, is sometimes also referred to as the Bay Islands.

The Nicobars consists of 19 islands, and more than 300 islands make up the Andaman Islands. Collectively known as Great Andaman Islands, North, Middle, and South Andaman Islands are the main islands of this region, Other names include Landfall Island, Interview Island, the Sentinel Islands, Ritchie’s Archipelago, and Rutland Island. The highest peak, known as “Saddle Peak'' stands at 2,418 feet on North Andaman Islands, followed by Mount Thullier at 2,106 feet on Great Nicobar and Mount Harriet at 1,197 feet on South Andaman Islands.

A barren island, the only known active Volcano in south Asia lies in the Andaman Islands sea. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, there were volcanic eruptions on Barren Island. At least 11 mud volcanoes are known to be present on the islands. In 2004 the islands drew global attention when they were severely damaged by a giant tsunami that had been triggered by an earthquake in the Indian Ocean near Indonesia.

The terrain of Andaman Islands is rough, with hills enclosing narrow longitudinal valleys, owing to its formation by sandstone, limestone, and rocks of Cenozoic age (i.e., formed during the past 65 million years). Flatland is confined to a few valleys, such as the Betapur on Middle Andaman Islands and Diglipur on North Andaman Islands. Most of the islands in Andaman Islands exhibit dense forest cover, trees that are more than 30m tall, rainforests, owing to the tropical climate contributing to the lush vegetation.

Large river bodies are scarce in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and while Nicobar is blessed with various perennial streams, Andaman Islands has one river, Kalpong. Originating from Saddle Peak, the river traverses in the northward direction for a distance of roughly 35 kilometres before it joins the Aerial Bay Creek on the east coast. The climate of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands is tropical, always warm, but with sea-breezes, with temperatures typically ranging from 23 °C to 30°C. Rainfall is irregular, with islands receiving 120 inches of precipitation annually, brought by the southwest monsoon and the tropical cyclones that follow in October and November.