34 international routes impacted due to Pakistan airspace closure; Turkey ops fully compliant: IndiGo

IndiGo's management on May 21 also said that despite the current ongoing disruptions the airline is confident of India's long term growth for both domestic and international air travel

IndiGo, the largest airline in India, on May 21 said that around 34 international routes that it currently operates are being impacted due to the Pakistan airspace closure while flights to two international destinations have been stopped completely.

"We have two international stations being cancelled at the moment. So out of the total of 41 (international destinations IndiGo serves with a direct connection), two have been cancelled. And there's a number of around 34 routes where the average flying time has increased in the range of 20 minutes," IndiGo's Chief Executive Officer Pieter Elbers said in a press conference after announcing Q4 FY25 results of InterGlobe Aviation.

He added that despite the additional travel time IndiGo was well equipped to deal with the impact of the Pakistani airspace closure. Elbers also said that when Pakistan lifts its airspace restrictions the airline will restart suspended flights to Tashkent and Almaty.

"When the airspace restrictions are being lifted, we will reintroduce our flights to Tashkent and Almaty," Elbers said.

Flights to Istanbul

He added that IndiGo's operations to Istanbul are fully compliant with Indian regulatory norms, underlining that the services are in accordance with the air service agreements between India and Turkey. He also said that IndiGo's flights to Istanbul fall within the framework of existing government-approved entitlements.

“IndiGo is fully compliant with regulatory norms. Operations to Istanbul are in the context of air service agreements between India and Turkey,” Elbers said.

According to reports, the Centre is not expected to extend IndiGo's leasing agreement with Turkish Airlines. The current agreement, allowing IndiGo to operate aircraft on the Mumbai-Delhi-Istanbul route, is set to expire on May 31.

Since 2023, IndiGo has been utilising two aircraft leased from Turkish Airlines to operate routes connecting New Delhi and Mumbai to Istanbul. The flight crew, including pilots and some crew members, are provided by Turkish Airlines as part of the agreement.

While a review process is underway, it is unlikely that the IndiGo-Turkish Airlines agreement will be renewed, given the current diplomatic situation.

Following the revocation of security clearance for Celebi Airport Services India by Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) over national security concerns, and Turkiye's political stance backing Pakistan, travel advisories caution against visiting Turkiye. IndiGo maintains its operations, providing valuable options for Indian travelers through its codeshare agreement with Turkish Airlines.

There is uncertainty around lease renewals for these aircraft, but Elbers confirms IndiGo has robust contingency plans. With the Air Service Agreement allowing 56 weekly flights between India and Turkiye, this partnership significantly benefits Indian travelers by providing additional long-haul capacity at competitive rates during a period of rising international airfares.

This decision follows India's recent efforts to decrease commercial ties with Turkey due to Ankara's backing of Pakistan during Operation Sindoor. As part of these actions, the Ministry of Civil Aviation recently revoked Turkish firm Celebi's security clearance, leading to the quick transition to Indian ground operations companies at Mumbai and Delhi airports. There is also a growing movement to boycott Turkish Airlines, which holds a significant presence in the Indian market.

Impact on domestic operations due to operation Sindoor

Elbers also said that 170 daily flights operated by IndiGo for eight days were impacted due to the closure of 32 domestic airports in India in the May due to the aftermath of the India-Pakistan military escalations.

He added that IndiGo has restarted all its cancelled flights and domestic traffic is slowly returning to the aforementioned destinations.

"Meanwhile, all these flights have been reinstated and we see the demand actually coming back. It took a couple of days and clearly by now we see slowly traffic return to the levels which were there before," Elbers said.

Similarly, IndiGo's Chief Financial Officer Gaurav Negi said that the April 22 Pahalgam attack which resulted in the death of 26 civilians coupled with the India-Pakistan military escalations did have some impact on cancellations and booking trends. He added that the cancellations began from April 22, but the trend has started to reverse.

"We hope that by May end and in June we will see a quick recovery," Negi said.

The Indian government had shutdown 32 airports for civilian and commercial flights from May 9 to May 12 in the wake of heightened tensions with Pakistan.

Outlook for 2025-26

IndiGo's management on May 21 also said that despite the current ongoing disruptions the airline is confident of India's long term growth for both domestic and international air travel. As part of the same IndiGo will continue to expand its aircraft fleet by 10-12 percent on year in 2025-26.

IndiGo ended 2024-25 with a fleet of 434 aircraft as of March 31, 2025 and expects to take delivery of three more new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft from Norse Atlantic Airways by the end of 2025 along with taking delivery of one new Airbus A320 neo aircraft every week for the next year.

Elbers also said that IndiGo is in talks with Airbus to take delivery of its first Airbus A321XLR aircraft, the longest-range single-aisle aircraft in the world, by the end of 2025.

The new aircraft will have dual-class configuration and will help IndiGo operate nonstop flights of up to 4,700 nautical miles or 8,700 km, which will help the airline fly directly from Indian airports to London, Amsterdam, Paris, Tokyo and Perth. The planes in the airline's current fleet, mainly A320ceo, A320neo, A321neo and ATR aircraft, can fly a maximum of 7,200 km without refuelling.

The new aircraft will play a major part in IndiGo's international expansion plans in 2025, as the airline is looking to expand its services in the international market and is currently in talks with multiple airports for direct services from the Indira Gandhi International Airport.

Elbers also said that IndiGo's Blue Chip loyalty programme has on-boarded 2.9 million customers since its launch. He added that IndiGo currently operates 16 planes with dual configuration having with IndiGo Stretch and the airline plans to expand its stretch on 10 new metro routes in 2025.

He further said that international expansions account for 28% of all available seat kilometers (ASK), a measure of an airplane’s carrying capacity available to generate revenues. “International is a leading part of our growth as Indian travellers want to explore,” he added.

IndiGoStretch is already operational on the Delhi-Mumbai route. By early January 2025, all 20 daily flights between Delhi and Mumbai will be on an IndiGoStretch aircraft. A tailor-made business product for India’s busiest and business routes, IndiGoStretch will be available on all 15 daily flights between Delhi and Bengaluru by March 2025.

IndiGoStretch is available for bookings on IndiGo’s direct channels and aggregator websites, with tickets starting at Rs 21,000. It offers a 2-seat wide bay, specially curated healthy meal options by the Chefs at Oberoi Flight Services, and premium seats designed by RECARO.

The airline also said that it currently has 40 aircraft grounded due to Pratt & Whitney engine issues falling from 50 grounded aircraft at the end of December 2024.

Elbers also said that in recognition of IndiGo's strong financial metrics and prudent fiscal management, Moody’s Investors Service has assigned IndiGo its first-ever international investment-grade rating of Baa3, with a stable outlook.

Moody’s emphasised IndiGo’s market dominance, cost-competitive operations, solid liquidity position, and disciplined approach to managing its aggressive fleet expansion plans. Moody’s expects IndiGo’s revenue growth to range between 9.5 -9.8 percent in FY26, despite geopolitical headwinds, supported by its resilient business model.

Elbers said that the new rating by Moody's will make it easier for IndiGo to pick up capital from the market which will aid its expansion plans.