Encouraged by growing air traffic from India, leading German carrier Lufthansa has said it would like to see Delhi as an international operational hub in future.
"Delhi could become a hub and get connected like our hub in Frankfurt ... India has become a core market for us where we expect sustained long-term growth," Lufthansa Chairman and CEO Wolfgang Mayrhuber said in New Delhi.
Replying to questions, he told PTI that with the new terminal T-3 coming up at Delhi's IGI Airport, there was a great scope for "transfer traffic". International passengers could change planes in Delhi for their onward journey, whether inside India or beyond east or southeastwards.
The growing demand for global connectivity from India was driven by high and sustained economic growth, "encouraging" infrastructure developments and transformation of many Indian firms into competitive global players.
Mayrhuber was on a two-day visit here during which he had meetings with Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel and Air India CMD Arvind Jadhav.
The Lufthansa chief said the airline was encouraged by the "burst in capacity", high rate of inflow of foreign investment and the sustained rise in GDP graph.
Noting that India was the second largest market for his carrier after the US, he said Lufthansa and its affiliates Swiss AirLines and Austrian Airlines linked India with 67 weekly frequencies to Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich and Vienna – "more than any other European airline".
{{/usCountry}}Noting that India was the second largest market for his carrier after the US, he said Lufthansa and its affiliates Swiss AirLines and Austrian Airlines linked India with 67 weekly frequencies to Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich and Vienna – "more than any other European airline".
{{/usCountry}}