Now, Germany withdraws permission for AI Frankfurt flights till October 14; 12 flights cancelled – Times of India

NEW DELHI: The ongoing air bubble disagreement between India and Germany has taken a turn for the worse. Germany has now withdrawn permission for Air India to operate flights to Frankfurt. “All our flights to and from Frankfurt till October 14 have been cancelled due to that withdrawal of permission by German authorities,” said an Air India official. Twelve AI flights — 10 on Delhi-Frankfurt and two on Bengaluru-Frankfurt — have been cancelled till October 14. The German move comes after Lufthansa had cancelled all its India flights till October 20.
At the moment, France is the only EU country with which India currently has flights under the air bubble agreement. AI and Lufthansa will resume flights between India and Germany from later this month.

While India and Germany have excellent relations trouble has been brewing on the aviation front for some time now. Last month, India had asked Lufthansa and Air France to fly Indian citizens only between India and EU under the air bubble agreement. The EU airlines were offering tickets between North America and India also under the bubble.
Then there was concern at the disparity of number of flights being operated by AI and Lufthansa under the bubble. “As against Indian carriers operating 3-4 flights a week, Lufthansa operated 20 flights a week. In spite of this disparity, we offered to clear 7 flights a week for Lufthansa which was not accepted by them. Negotiations continue,” a senior Indian aviation official had said.
While India says it “formalised an air bubble with Germany in July 2020”, Lufthansa claimed this Tuesday — while announcing cancellation of all its India flights till October 20 — that “India has so far not accepted the invitation by German government to discuss details regarding a temporary travel agreement between both countries.”
“Lufthansa sincerely urges the Indian authorities to work together with the German government in order to establish a temporary travel agreement between both countries…. unexpected rejection of Lufthansa’s planned flight schedule for October by Indian authorities. Lufthansa had applied for the continuation of special flights it was granted to operate until the end of September…. Due to the Indian government’s rejection, Lufthansa will now have to cancel all planned flights between Germany and India between September 30 and October 20,” Lufthansa statement issued Tuesday said.
In October Lufthansa had scheduled flights to Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai. “October flight schedule would essentially have been an extension of the already limited number of flights between India and Germany that Lufthansa has been reintroducing to the Indian market since June… As visa issuance is restarting and demand for flights to and from India is increasing, it is regrettable that Lufthansa is currently being unnecessarily restricted in its ability to serve its loyal Indian customers and enable their desired travel,” Lufthansa said, adding, “once Indian authorities agree on talks with the German government to establish a temporary travel agreement, Lufthansa is set to continue serving the Indian people in these unprecedented times as it has done for decades: by offering safe travel to and from Germany and other countries worldwide.”

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