I can give you a first hand account as I travelled from Europe to Mumbai in Feb 2021. Please note that this was at a time when COVID was at it's peak in Europe, and was just about starting to rise again in Mumbai/Maharashtra.
The Lufthansa website made it clear that institutional quarantine may be required and asked me to check with the local body and airport. So I went to the CSMIA website, and they had a full protocol on who needs to quarantine and who is exempt. At that time, there were 3 ways to avoid institutional quarantine -
- If you were travelling with a child who is less than 5 years old
- If you were over the age of 60, or 65 I believe
- If you had an ailing family member in Mumbai that you had to tend to
I didn't meet any of the 3 criteria, but in typical Mumbai style, I was hoping to do some
jugaad and avoid the quarantine. No Sir! What followed after I landed in Mumbai was surreal.
Immigration clearance? No problem. Done in less than 5 mins. Baggage collection? Bags arrived less than 5 mins after I got to the baggage area. Customs? Smooth sailing. Now all this while I did not see a single BMC official and thought that there is no quarantine. Boy I was so wrong.
After I cleared customs and exit into the main arrival hall, I was greeted by an absolute cheerful bunch of BMC officials. I was given a form and a list of 70-80 hotels to choose from. These were hotels where I could quarantine. I bargained. I negotiated. I showed them my negative RT-PCR test. I tried to sneak out. But to no avail. So, at 2:30 in the morning, I gave up. I picked a hotel from the list, completed formalities at the desk, paid 50 rupees for a bus ticket, and was ferried from the Airport to my hotel by a BEST bus.
Here is the bright part of the story. Hotel tariffs are
CHEAP. Taj Lands end - 4600 a night. Taj Colaba? The same. I chose Sofitel in BKC which is closer to home and paid 3900 for each night. I thought, if you are getting quarantined, why fight it. Might as well enjoy it. I did kick and curse myself for not picking lands end. The view would have been lovely. All 3 meals included in the price. Although, this is not food from the hotel. There is a separate dabba service which brings you food. And the food was delicious!
Now, I am not saying the next thing with any pride, but I might as well share my full experience with you. Ideally, when in institutional quarantine, you are supposed to be in your room for 7 days. I did not. I went down to smoke few times a day, and to get fresh air. There is no way you can be stuck in an AC room for 7 days without any fresh air. BMC officials made a check once in 7 days, but that was about it. At this point I must say that I was extremely proud and happy the way BMC handled the whole process.
Long story short - if you are travelling with a child under 5 years of age, you may be able to skip institutional quarantine. Although, you may still need to quarantine at home and BMC will stamp your hand. Things have improved in Europe now, and hopefully back home in Mumbai, so please check the CSMIA website and their Twitter handle. They have a lot of info there.
Safe travels and let us know how it goes.
EDIT - As I rode on the bus from the Airport to the hotel, I got chatting with the BMC official who was escorting me to the Hotel. We literally drove past the lane which could have taken me home and I made one last desperate attempt at asking him to allow me to go home. He was sympathetic to my cause and said he just can't. One part of me was very very happy that they stood their ground. Yes, there have been lapses and some people bribed their way out. Some even escaped from the quarantine hotel, but those hotels were taken off the quarantine list, and I assume BMC went after them.