(VIN): Germany has revoked the permission for India’s national carrier, Air India, to operate flights to Frankfurt.
Media reports quoted an Air India official as saying: “All our flights to and from Frankfurt till October 14 have been cancelled due to a withdrawal of permission by German authorities.”
Some twelve Air India flights — 10 on Delhi-Frankfurt and two on Bengaluru-Frankfurt routes — have been affected by the move.
Earlier, German carrier Lufthansa had cancelled all its India flights till October 20.
Lufthansa on Tuesday said it had cancelled all planned flights to India between September 30 and October 20, following New Delhi’s rejection of its schedule.
The airline said the cancellations were due to the “unexpected rejection of [its] planned flight schedule for October by Indian authorities”, while also adding that New Delhi had “so far not accepted the invitation by the German government to discuss details regarding a temporary travel agreement between both countries”.
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Lufthansa had applied for the continuation of special flights it was granted to operate until the end of September. India has not yet accepted the invitation.
“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,” the carrier said.
At present, India has an air bubble arrangement with only France within the European territory, while more such tie-ups are expected to be announced soon.
