Indians not allowed to fly EU carriers to UK without Schengen visa

Indians travelling to the UK on EU carriers are being denied boarding at the origin in India if they do not have a transit or regular Schengen visa, according to local media reports.

EU carriers include popular airlines such as Lufthansa, Air France and KLM, which have stopovers in transit hubs at Frankfurt, Munich, Paris and Amsterdam.

Post Brexit, the EU is insisting that non-EU citizens must have a transit Schengen visa to fly to the UK on transit flights of its carriers, the Times of India reported, citing top airline officials.

Indians travelling to the UK can do so without requiring a transit visa if they have a stopover in Gulf countries or Switzerland, which isn't a part of the EU and doesn't require the Schengen visa rule for its carrier Swiss.

If passengers are denied boarding at the origin airport in India, they may or may not be eligible for a refund. “Passengers should be aware of the travel requirements, so refund depends on the conditions of the ticket bought,” an EU airline official was quoted as saying.

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To ensure they don't lose business, some EU carriers have reportedly requested foreign governments to raise the issue with the Union.

• India
• Europe