(Seychelles News Agency) - Air Seychelles will resume scheduled passenger flights linking Seychelles and Mumbai as of December 2, the airline said on Thursday.

The return of the Seychelles' national carrier to one of India's biggest cities and commercial financial centres follows the removal of travel restrictions between the two countries.

The Seychelles' health ministry removed restrictions to India and five other countries -- Brazil, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan -- on November 12.

On December 2, Air Seychelles will restart weekly flights from Mumbai to Seychelles, and then in January increase the frequency to two flights per week, with onward connections to Johannesburg, South Africa.

The airline's chief commercial officer, Charles Johnson said, "After a 20-month hiatus, we are thrilled to be offering normal commercial flights once again between India and Seychelles."

"During the COVID-19 pandemic, we were able to offer some charter flights between the two countries on an extremely limited basis. Now with the return of normal commercial flights, we are able to once again offer choice and convenience to our guests. With the return of flights to India, Air Seychelles is now flying to all of its pre-pandemic destinations on a regular basis."

Air Seychelles ceased its commercial services in Mumbai on March 25 last year due to the pandemic. Since then, the airline has used its fleet of A320neo aircraft of 168 seats to operate a series of charter, repatriation and cargo flights on this route.

Travellers to the Seychelles regardless of their vaccination status must hold a negative COVID-19 PCR test result done 72 hours prior to departure. They must also complete a Health Travel Authorisation at  seychelles.govtas.com which must include a valid travel insurance covering COVID-19.

For travellers from Mumbai, besides the negative PCR test result, the completed approval received from the mandatory health declaration form completed 72 hours prior to departure via the Air Suvidha portal will also be verified upon check-in.

As each city may have specific entry requirements, travellers with onward domestic connections are asked to verify and adhere to the guidelines of their final destination.

Meanwhile, the Seychelles' transport minister, Antony Derjacques, while in Dubai, signed a Bilateral Air Service Agreement with the Minister of State Aviation of Sri Lanka, through which Lanka Airways will resume twice-weekly flights to Seychelles in December.

Derjacques also signed an agreement with Jakub Swalek, Charges D'affaire of the Embassy of Poland, that will allow Air Seychelles to explore the option of flying to Poland, a central European country.

Air Seychelles, the national airline of Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean, was established in 1978 and began long-haul service in 1983.