Etihad Airways applied for an injunction in a German Court today to protect its codeshare flights with partner Air Berlin.
The launch of legal action is also designed to help protect the German carrier’s 8000 employees and provide passengers with “clarity and confidence,” the UAE carrier said.
Etihad Airways owns 29.2% of Air Berlin, Germany’s second-largest airline.
The airline said it was not prepared to wait any longer for the German government to make a decision on whether or not to approve Etihad’s codeshare on Air Berlin flights.
The proposed codeshare covers 29 destinations in Europe, the US and the UAE on which passengers have booked more than 82,000 tickets.
The flights cover the winter 2015/16 schedule which is due to begin in just two days and covers the five months from Sunday (October 25) until March 31, 2016.
The airline said it was left with no alternative but to file a pre-emptive injunction with the Administrative Court of Braunschweig in the absence of any decision from German authorities – which have approved seven Etihad Airways schedules, including all code shares with Air Berlin since 2012.