To End Association With Turkiye Airlines, Govt Gives IndiGo Time Till Aug 31

Sources said Indigo had requested for a further extension of the same for another six months, which was not agreed to by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

However, in order to avoid passenger inconvenience due to immediate flight disruption, Indigo has been granted a one-time last and final extension of three months upto August 31, 2025 for these damp leased aircraft, based on the undertaking from the airline that, they will terminate the damp lease with Turkish Airline within this extension period, and shall not seek any further extension for these operations, sources said.

IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers said the airline will comply with any government regulations amid the airline operating wet-leased planes of Turkish Airlines coming into focus. Last week, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said the civil aviation ministry was taking inputs from IndiGo and security agencies on the airline's use of planes leased from Turkish Airlines and then will decide on the way forward.

"Flights between India and Turkiye are governed within the bilateral air service agreement. We are compliant today and we will continue to comply with any government regulations on those lines," Elbers said on Friday.

Meanwhile, expanding its network, IndiGo’s airline is planning to add ten new international routes, taking the total to over 50 international destinations.

Revealing its strategy of internationalisation, the airline on Friday said it will start direct flights to 10 international destinations, including London and Athens, in the current financial year. Other destinations include Amsterdam (the Netherlands), Manchester (the UK), Copenhagen (Denmark), Siem Reap (Cambodia) and four places in Central Asia.

IndiGo will start operating direct flights from Mumbai to Manchester and Amsterdam with the leased Boeing 787-9 aircraft in July, and the services to the UK city will also mark the airline's long haul debut. “As IndiGo’s fleet of damp leased B787s expands later this year, the airline is planning to expand its long-haul network to London and Copenhagen,” IndiGo said.

The airline will also re-activate services to Almaty and Tashkent with new non-stop services from Mumbai. Tbilisi will also see additional capacity with non-stop connectivity from Mumbai. Direct flights to Siem Reap will be IndiGo’s foray in the India – Cambodia market, and yet another destination connected in Southeast Asia after the successful launch of services to Langkawi, Penang and Krabi last year. The airline will also add capacity to Denpasar Bali (Indonesia) as well as Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi in Vietnam.