Delta Air Lines withdraws objection to SpiceJet’s FACP

Having received approval from the Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to codeshare with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KL, Amsterdam Schiphol), Delta Air Lines (DL, Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson) has now withdrawn its objection to SpiceJet’s application for US exemption authority and a Foreign Air Carrier Permit (FACP). The American carrier previously argued that it had been treated unfairly by the Indian authorities. Therefore, it requested the US Department of Transportation (DOT) to withhold SpiceJet’s exemption and FACP to enforce reciprocal treatment of Delta by the DGCA. In particular, Delta objected to the DGCA’s refusal to permit it to codeshare on flights to India operated by its Skyteam partners. The Indian authorities ordered the US airline to suspend codesharing with Air France-KLM in June 2020 but subsequently permitted codesharing on Air France flights in November 2020. Since then, Delta has continued to demand permission to codeshare on KLM’s flights. “Earlier this week, Delta received final approval from the Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation to codeshare to and from India on partner KLM flights consistent with the rights found in the US-India Air Transportation Agreement,” Delta’s Director (Regulatory and International Affairs) said in a letter to the DOT.