Lufthansa on Tuesday said it would have to cancel all flights between September 30 and October 20, with India and Germany failing to agree on the number of flights between them under the special air bubble arrangement.

“Lufthansa had applied for the continuation of special flights it was granted to operate until the end of September. This application process is necessary since India has so far not accepted the invitation by the German government to discuss details regarding a temporary travel agreement between both countries,” the airline said in a statement.

“Due to the Indian government’s rejection, Lufthansa will now have to cancel all planned flights between Germany and India between 30 September and 20 October,” it added.

Aviation regulator DGCA said India formalised an air bubble with Germany in July this year. “However, 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,” the DGCA stated.

“As against Indian carriers operating 3-4 flights a week, Lufthansa operated 20 flights a week. In spite of this disparity we offered to clear 7 flights a week for Lufthansa which was not accepted by them. Negotiations continue,” it noted.

Scheduled international passenger flights have been suspended in India since March 23.