Lufthansa Group Strengthens India Presence, Boosted by FTA

New Delhi, Jul 28 (PTI) Lufthansa Group, which currently operates 11 daily flights connecting Indian cities with European destinations, will further strengthen its presence in India, a senior executive said on Tuesday.

Apart from lakhs of tourists visiting the country from Germany, India has also inked a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the European Union, which will also boost overall traffic. Germany is part of the trade pact.

Kevin Markette, Senior Director-Regional Sales South Asia at Lufthansa Group, said it wants the number of tourists coming from Germany to India to grow. "We want more Germans to come into India. As a result, the Lufthansa Group is further strengthening our presence in the market," he said at an event in the national capital organised by the German National Tourist Office (GNTO).

Currently, Lufthansa Group operates 11 flights a day from India to its hubs in Germany, Switzerland, and Italy. "This makes us the largest European airline group flying into India today, and we're growing.

"Our focus right now is on bringing in the newest aircraft into the market, stabilising that, upgrading the Mumbai-Munich flight, as I mentioned earlier, to an Airbus A380. That's effectively doubling the capacity. That aircraft alone has 571 seats.

"The newest destination we have in India will be flown by Swiss International Airlines, that will be Zurich to Bangalore," Markette said.

German Ambassador to India Philipp Ackermann said the implementation of the free trade agreement between India and the 27-nation European Union will boost trade and investment between India and Germany.


On January 27 this year, India and the EU announced the conclusion of negotiations for the free trade agreement, described as 'mother of all deals', under which 93 per cent of Indian shipments will enjoy duty-free access to the 27-nation bloc, while import of luxury cars and wines from the EU will become less expensive.

The deal, concluded after negotiations spanning about two decades, will create a market of about 2 billion people.

Speaking on the India-EU FTA, Ackermann said, "I think this will be a game-changer in many ways. It will lead to more German investment in India, and may also lead to more Indian investment in Germany, which we welcome. In many ways, the easing of tariffs and tariff barriers between Europe and India will activate trade and investment between both markets, and I'm very optimistic about it when, in the first half of next year, we implement this quickly".

Referring to the transit visa requirement being removed for Indian travellers transiting through German airports, Markette termed it as a significant development that signals Germany's intention to be a very strong partner for India.

"If you combine that with the EU free trade agreement (FTA) that is very close, I would say to fruition, there's a huge potential for Germany as a destination market, but also as a transfer market," Markette noted.

Overnight stays by Indian travellers rose to 350,488 between January and May 2026, up 0.1 per cent year-on-year, with May 2026 recording 86,870 overnight stays.

Romit Theophilus, Director - Marketing & Sales Office, India, GNTO, said, "Despite ongoing geopolitical uncertainty across the world, Germany continues to hold its own as a stable and dependable travel destination, and India remains one of the markets driving that momentum. What we're witnessing is a clear shift in how Indian travellers engage with Germany; they're spending more time, going deeper into a region, and choosing experiences that connect them to a place rather than simply passing through it".