Air services between Germany and India have restarted after authorities
in the two countries came to an agreement on how many carriers from the
two countries could operate.
Lufthansa had cancelled all flights
between the countries at the end of September after India’s Directorate General
of Civil Aviation (DGCA) suggested the German airline cut its services
from 20 to seven flights a week.
At the time, the DGCA said, “There
are restrictions in place for Indian nationals desiring to travel to Germany
which was putting Indian carriers at a significant disadvantage resulting in
inequitable distribution of traffic in favour of Lufthansa.”
Lufthansa did not accept the change
and cancelled all services, although negotiations continued.
India’s civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri said yesterday
that the air bubble agreement with Germany was restarting. India operates “air bubbles” with a number of countries, including Germany, France and the UK, allowing travel in certain circumstances.
Air India services will start on 26
October with five-times-weekly flights between Delhi and Frankfurt and twice-weekly
flights between Bengaluru and Frankfurt. Lufthansa will operate four-times-weekly services from Munich to Delhi and thrice-weekly services from Frankfurt to
both Mumbai and Bengaluru.