Despite several domestic travel companies suspending new bookings to Turkey and Azerbaijan since May 9, InterGlobe aviation-run IndiGo airlines is not looking to reduce or stop operating its flights to Turkey as part of its code-share and wet leasing agreement with Turkish Airlines, senior executives from the airline told Moneycontrol.
"We have not seen a sharp drop in flight bookings to Turkey or a rush of cancellations so far. If demand to Istanbul takes a hit in the coming weeks, IndiGo will have to reconsider," a senior airline official told Moneycontrol.
The airline is also not planning to reduce frequency of its flights to Baku in Azerbaijan, executives said.
Emails sent to IndiGo for official comments on the issue remained unanswered till the time of publishing.
As per Azerbaijan Tourism Board, only 4,853 Indians visited Azerbaijan in 2014. The number stood at 243,589 in 2024. The tourism board expects a growth of 11% from now until the next 10 years. Turkey saw Indian arrivals at 3,30,000 passengers in 2024, while the number stood at 119,503 in 2014 as per the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Turkey.
There are roughly 13,000 seats between India and Turkey each way on a weekly basis, while Azerbaijan and India have a little over 3,000 seats each way on a weekly basis. There remain many one-stop options to both these countries.
According to data from flight tracking website Flightradar24 IndiGo operates two flights daily between India and Turkey, one from Delhi to Istanbul and one from Mumbai to Istanbul while Turkish Airlines operates daily between Istanbul and Delhi and Mumbai and one weekly between Istanbul and Chennai.
Data from Flightradar24 shows that so far no flight between India and Turkey has been cancelled despite voices asking for a boycott of Turkey and Azerbaijan in India.
Similarly, data from Flightradar24 shows that IndiGo is the only airline currently operating flights between Delhi and Baku and no flights have been cancelled so far in the past week.
The decisions by some travel booking website to suspended new bookings to Turkey and Azerbaijan from May 9 was taken after official condemnations from Turkey and Azerbaijan of India’s recent strikes in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, sparking calls on Indian social media for a boycott of travel to both nations.
Social media in India was flooded with statistics, some verified, some unverified on how many passengers from India travelled to these countries. As the ceasefire announcement was being made, more and more travel companies decided to not take bookings for Turkey and Azerbaijan.
These three hashtags were trending in India since May 11 - #BoycottTurkey, #BoycottAzerbaijan and #BoycottTurkeyAzerjbaijan.
EaseMyTrip founder Nishant Pittie urged travelers to reconsider travel plans unless absolutely necessary. “It is disheartening to note that Turkey and Azerbaijan have extended their support to Pakistan,” Pittie said in a statement.
Ixigo also announced on May 9 that due to its love for the nation, it was stopping bookings to three countries.
"In solidarity with our nation, Ixigo is suspending flight and hotel bookings for Turkey, Azerbaijan, and China. Because when it comes to Bharat, we don't think twice. Jai Hind," the company posted on X.
Similarly, Cox & Kings also paused travel to Uzbekistan. Karan Agarwal, the director, said the company is prioritizing traveler safety and national sentiment:
"We also advise Indian travelers to exercise discretion and avoid any non-essential travel to these destinations until there is greater clarity and alignment in the broader geopolitical environment," Agarwal said in a statement earlier this week.
Shiv Sena had on May 8 called for a boycott of Turkey and Azerbaijan after both countries expressed solidarity with Pakistan against India’s Operation Sindoor to revenge the Pahalgam terrorist attack. Party leader Shaina NC had also called for Indians to boycott Turkey’s flag carrier Turkish Airlines and requested IndiGo to end its codeshare partnership with the former.
Just three days after the Shiv Sena called for a boycott of Turkey and Azerbaijan, party workers and leaders demonstrated a protest at Mumbai Airport demanding the cancellation of a Turkish company’s contract for handling airport ground services.
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