New Delhi:
The German airline Lufthansa, one of the world’s largest operators, canceled all flights to India between September 30 and October 20 after a dispute with the government over the number of flights it can currently operate.
In a statement on this issue, Lufthansa said: “Due to the Indian government’s rejection of Lufthansa’s flight schedule for October, Lufthansa will now have to cancel all scheduled flights between Germany and India between September 30 and October 20, Unfortunately”.
The DGCA (Director General of Civil Aviation) said the number of weekly flights operated by Lufthansa (as part of the air bubble between India and Germany during the pandemic) is 20.
Meanwhile, Indian companies operate three to four flights per week.
The DGCA has said that this means that national operators are at a “significant disadvantage”.
“… it is putting Indian carriers at a significant disadvantage, resulting in an uneven distribution of traffic in Lufthansa’s favor,” the civil aviation regulator’s statement said.
The government proposed limiting Lufthansa flights to seven a week, which the airline rejected. Negotiations between both parties continue.
As international air travel began to slowly reopen around the world after months of coronavirus lockdowns, India created the air bubble, allowing citizens of each country to travel in either direction, with Germany in July.
Regular international passenger flights continue to be suspended since March 23 due to the closure of Covid. Domestic flights resumed on May 25.
However, there are restrictions for Indian nationals traveling to Germany and this, according to the government, was putting domestic airlines at a disadvantage and resulted in an “uneven distribution of traffic in Lufthansa’s favor.”
Including Germany, India has “air bubble agreements” with 13 countries. Some of the others are Australia, Japan, France, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Singapore.
With input from PTI
.