Lufthansa cancels all flights to and from India till October 20

German air carrier Lufthansa on Tuesday announced cancellation of all operations to India following differences with Indian authorities over its planned flight schedule under the travel bubble arrangement.

“Due to the Indian government’s rejection, Lufthansa will now have to cancel all planned flights between Germany and India between 30 September and 20 October,” Lufthansa said in a statement.

The German airline was operating 20 flights every week to India under the travel bubble arrangement which was formalised in July. Lufthansa operated flights to Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru and was planning to start services to Chennai next month.

However, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said restriction on Indian nationals desiring to travel to Germany had put Indian air carriers at a disadvantage, which resulted in inequitable distribution of traffic in favour of Lufthansa.

“As against Indian carriers operating 3-4 flights a week, Lufthansa operated 20 flights a week,” the DGCA said.

The civil aviation regulator said despite the disparity, India had offered to clear seven flights per week for Lufthansa, which was not acceptable to the airline.

Lufthansa, in the statement, urged the Indian authorities to work together with the German government in order to establish a temporary travel agreement between both countries.

“Such an agreement is necessary to address the urgent need of tens of thousands of Indians and foreign nationals for travel to and from India and would also help balance the interests of both countries’ airlines,” it added.

India currently has air bubble arrangements with 13 countries including USA, UK, France, Germany, Canada, Maldives, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Nigeria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Japan. The government is currently in talks with several other countries for such arrangements.