Delta Air Lines (DL, Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson) has announced it will resume nonstop flights between the United States and India, next year. The US carrier's last such service to India - Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson-Mumbai International - operated in 2009.
In a statement, Delta said the move follows the recent agreements between the US and the governments of the United Arab Emirates and Qatar to address the issue of alleged government subsidies provided to Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways, and Emirates.
Delta CEO Ed Bastian said the route had been made possible by US President Donald Trump taking "real action" in enforcing the US's Open Skies trade deals.
"The framework created by the agreement allows Delta to move forward with service to India, a market long impacted by government-subsidized Middle Eastern airlines," he said. "This move will mark a return to India for Delta, which was forced to exit the market after subsidized state-owned airlines made service economically unviable."
Delta did not specify the route itself, stating only that it would serve Mumbai. As such, full schedule details will be announced later this year pending government approvals.
As part of the launch, Delta intends to expand its existing codeshare relationship with partner Jet Airways (JAI, Mumbai International) to provide seamless connections to other destinations within India, subject to government approvals.
