Lufthansa Group plans to resume flight services to India in June

German airlines group Lufthansa on Thursday said it plans to resume its services to India, which are currently suspended due to the lockdown in the wake of coronavirus pandemic, by June, when it is expecting to operate to more than 130 destinations globally.

The services in India will be restored to Mumbai from Frankfurt to begin with, subject to regulatory approvals, the airline said in a statement.

With over 106 destinations in Germany and Europe and more than 20 inter-continental destinations, the range of flights on offer for all travellers will be greatly expanded by the end of June, it said, adding that the first batch of flights will be available for reservation in the booking systems from May 14.

"I am proud of our decision to have Mumbai as one of the first destinations for increasing our long-haul services. It reflects the robust demand for flights to and from India, even in these unprecedented times.

"While we fully understand and respect the Indian government's final call as to when this can take place, resuming flights to Mumbai underlines our confidence in how the Indian government is handling the pandemic crisis," George Ettiyil, Senior Director Sales, South Asia, Lufthansa Group said.

With Germany and Switzerland also leading the way by flattening the "curve" in Europe, reopening this route will increase economic cooperation between our countries again, he added.

In its long-haul operations, the group's subsidiary airline Swiss will again offer its passengers new intercontinental direct services in June, in addition to its three weekly services to New York/Newark (USA), Lufthansa said.

The Swiss carrier plans to offer flights from Zurich to New York JFK, Chicago, Singapore, Bangkok, Tokyo, Mumbai, Hong Kong and Johannesburg, it added.

Lufthansa said it plans to offer around 1,800 weekly round trips to more than 130 destinations worldwide by the end of June.

"With the June flight schedule, we are making an important contribution to the revitalisation of the aviation infrastructure. People want to and can travel again, whether on holiday or for business reasons.

"That's why we will continue to expand our offer step by step in the coming months and connect Europe with each other and Europe with the world," said Harry Hohmeister, member of executive board at Lufthansa AG.