Delta Airlines set to resume nonstop flights to Mumbai next year

Delta Air Lines, a leading American carrier, today announced launching its nonstop flights between New York and Mumbai beginning next year, almost a decade after it withdrew its services to India.

The airlines was forced to exit Indian market and suspend its non-stop flights to Mumbai in 2009 after subsidised state-owned Middle Eastern carriers made its services economically unviable and hurt its ability to operate in parts of Asia, the airline said in a statement.

"It is exciting to be able to announce Delta's return to India from the US as part of our vision to expand Delta's reach internationally," Delta CEO Ed Bastian said.

The announcement came following agreements between the US and the governments of the United Arab Emirates and Qatar to address the issue of subsidies being provided to state-owned carriers.

The framework created by the agreement allows Delta to move forward with service to India, a market long impacted by government-subsidised Middle Eastern airlines.

"We are thankful to the president (Donald Trump) for taking real action to enforce our Open Skies trade deals, which made this new service possible. We are looking forward to providing customers in the US and India with Delta's famously reliable, customer-focused service operated by the best employees in the industry," Bastian said.

Delta said it also intends to expand its existing code-share relationship with partner Jet Airways to provide seamless connections to other destinations within India, subject to government approvals.

Full schedule and details of the New York-Mumbai service will be announced later this year. Currently the United Airlines and Air India operate non-stop services between India and the United States.

It takes around 14 hours of flying time to cover a journey of 7,800 nautical miles from New York.