Flying to UK via EU? Read this first before heading to the airport

Indians travelling to the UK on European Union (EU) carriers like Lufthansa, Air France and KLM by transiting via these airlines’ hubs at Frankfurt/Munich, Paris and Amsterdam, respectively, are being denied boarding in India if they do not have a transit/regular Schengen visa.

The German, French and Dutch flag carriers had previously allowed Indians to transit via their hub cities.

The UK is no longer part of the EU. Post Brexit, the EU has said non-EU citizens must have a transit visa to fly to the UK on transit flights of its carriers.

People going from India to the UK on one-stop flights can do so via places like the Gulf and Switzerland without requiring a transit visa for these places. 

The other option is non-stop flights of Air India, Vistara, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic.

The new EU rule came into effect in the middle of the pandemic from January 1, 2021. At that time, India had a bubble system for international connectivity with stringent conditions on which nationalities could take which flights.

The bubble system essentially was for point-to-point travel between India and other countries with conditional connections allowed to some.

The transit Schengen visa is a permit designated for travellers who have to change flights at a Schengen airport. It enables them to stop and wait in the international transit area of a Schengen airport for their flight to their destination country.

However, this visa does not permit its holder to leave the international transit area of an airport, even if the traveller has to wait overnight.

If a traveller needs to transit through more than one airport within the Schengen area, then they are no longer eligible for a transit visa. They should instead apply for a regular Schengen visa (C Type).

This is because flights between two or more Schengen countries are considered to be “domestic” flights, even if they are undertaken for transit purposes.