Indian nationals not allowed to fly transit through EU countries without a Schengen visa

n a recent development, many Indian flyers to the UK are not being allowed to board flights to the UK if they have a layover in a country that is part of the European Union but do not have a transit Schengen visa.

Many passengers were not allowed to fly on airlines like KLM, Lufthansa and Air France, and were stopped at airports in India. This is a result of the UK’s fallout with the EU after Brexit.

The rule was initially introduced right after Britain’s exit from the European Union, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic it had not come into full force and many were taking direct flights from India due to travel restrictions, and only a handful of flights taking on passengers.

However, now the rules have been reinstated and many had to return home after being refused to board their flights at the last minute. Mihikaa, a passenger from Bengaluru who was supposed to board a Lufthansa flight last month said, “They said they couldn’t allow me to board since, being an Indian passport holder, I needed a transit visa for my two-and-a-half-hour transit period in Frankfurt before flying out to London. I tried telling them that I hold a valid UK residence permit and didn’t face the transit visa hurdle during my trip from London to Bengaluru via Frankfurt, but they simply weren’t ready to listen.”

Currently Indian passengers require a Schengen visa if they transit through many EU countries, with the exception of the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark and Belgium.