German court allows most Etihad-Air Berlin codeshare flights

BERLIN (AP) - A German appeals court has ruled that Etihad Airways can continue most of its disputed code-share flights with Air Berlin for the rest of the winter schedule.

The administrative court in Lueneburg ruled late Thursday the Abu-Dhabi-based airline could continue the 26 international routes through March, but not five domestic code-share flights.

It found that the international flights were covered under an aviation agreement with the United Arab Emirates from 2000, overturning a lower court's ruling last month that code-shares on the 31 routes couldn't continue beyond Friday.

Etihad holds 29.2 percent of Germany's second-biggest airline and their code-sharing provides important income for Air Berlin. The German government had argued some routes weren't covered by the aviation agreement.

More than 50 other code-sharing routes have been unaffected by the dispute.