Lufthansa and Swiss planning return to Mumbai, but no date yet for new Bangalore service

Lufthansa group airlines are planning a tentative return to India, from as early as next month.

Could European airlines fly to Mumbai in June?

Despite there being no official confirmation from the Indian government that international flights to India can resume, Lufthansa group airlines are including Mumbai in their expanded June flying programmes.

Lufthansa and Swiss soon hope to serve more than 20 intercontinental, long-haul destinations, as well as over 106 destinations in Germany and Europe.

By the time services ramp up towards the end of June, Lufthansa group airlines plan to offer around 1,800 weekly roundtrips to more than 130 destinations worldwide. As of now, however, there is no start date for the earlier announced new Lufthansa service from Munich to Bangalore.

Harry Hohmeister, member of the executive board of Lufthansa, said:

“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.”

Lufthansa to lead the way with long-haul flights

Altogether, Lufthansa, Swiss and Eurowings will be offering more than 70 weekly frequencies overseas by mid-June, almost four times as many as in May.

Within the group, Lufthansa is leading the way and a further resumption of their long-haul flights is planned for the second half of June.

Subject to possible travel restrictions, Lufthansa will resume long-haul flights from Frankfurt to: Toronto, Mexico City, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Tel Aviv, Riyadh, Bahrain, Johannesburg, Dubai and Mumbai.

The destinations Newark/New York, Chicago, Sao Paulo, Tokyo and Bangkok will continue to be offered.

From Munich, Lufthansa plans to fly to Chicago, Los Angeles and Tel Aviv.

Austrian to stay grounded for now, Swiss to restart

As international flights make a return, Lufthansa group airlines are taking a different approach.

Austrian Airlines, whose entire fleet is currently grounded, has decided to extend the suspension of regular flight operations for a further week, from May 31 to June 7. A resumption of service in June is being considered.

Swiss, meanwhile, is planning to resume services to various destinations in the Mediterranean region, with other major European centres such as Paris, Brussels and Moscow being added to the programme.

In June, Swiss plans to offer flights from Zurich to New York JFK, Chicago, Singapore, Bangkok, Tokyo, Mumbai, Hong Kong and Johannesburg.

Its three weekly services to New York / Newark remain.

Summing up

Lufthansa and Swiss are planning a tentative return to India, though for now I’d chalk this up as hopeful, rather than set in stone.

The airlines are reminding passengers to expect stricter hygiene and security regulations throughout their trip, while onboard catering services will remain restricted for now.

Passengers will also be asked to wear a nose-and-mouth cover onboard for their entire journey.

Do you expect to see European airlines Swiss and Lufthansa return to Mumbai in June, or is this wishful thinking?