IndiGo forged partnerships with Delta Air Lines, Virgin Atlantic and Air France-KLM to increase and improve connectivity to Europe and North America. The memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the airlines on Monday aims to further support IndiGo’s global expansion spree, the Mint reported. The development comes at a time when India’s largest airline by market share has added direct flights to 10 international destinations, including Manchester, London and Amsterdam, to fuel its global expansion.
“In some parts of the world, it’s a 50-50 share, but for Europe, for example, it’s more like 70% of traffic on European operators and just 30% on Indian operators...So the opportunity to expand in that region is just very obvious for us,” IndiGo’s CEO, Pieter Elbers, said last week, according to the Business Standard. Presently, the airline giant serves 40 international destinations and by the end of the financial year 2026, it aims to add 10 more, Elbers added.
Apart from this, the giant has placed orders for 30 additional wide-body A350 aircraft with the European aircraft maker Airbus, increasing its total A350 fleet commitment to 60.
The move comes just weeks after IndiGo’s deal with Turkish Airlines to lease two Boeing 777 aircraft received a blow from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The regulator last week granted a one-time final extension of three months till August 31 to IndiGo on a damp lease agreement. This would end IndiGo’s codeshare partnership with Turkish Airlines, which has been in place since 2018.
“IndiGo requested a further extension of the same for another six months, which was not agreed to...based on the undertaking from the airline that they will terminate the damp lease with Turkish Airlines within this extension period, and shall not seek any further extension for these operations,” DGCA said in a statement last week.
The government’s decision came after the Recep Tayyip Erdogan-led Turkish government offered support to Pakistan and criticised India’s attack on the neighbouring country’s terror camps earlier in May. Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government had earlier revoked the security clearance license of Turkey’s airport ground handling services company Celebi Aviation in the “interest of national security”.
