IndiGo Launches Flights To Africa, Central Asia With Eye On US

The airline will also launch connectivity to North America via codeshare partnership with Turkish Airlines. It currently offers connectivity to 33 destinations in Europe via Istanbul under the codeshare partnership.

“As part of the codeshare partnership with Turkish Airlines, IndiGo will soon be offering connectivity to North America closing final regulatory approvals," the airline said.

Codeshare flights allow one airline to market the flights operated by another. The arrangement enables fliers to access a broader range of destinations. When booking a ticket, it will be issued under the flight number of the chosen carrier, even if the actual operation is carried out by a different airline.

The airline will connect Nairobi, Kenya and Jakarta, Indonesia, with direct flights from Mumbai in late July or early August. Simultaneously, it will connect Delhi to Tbilisi in Georgia, to Baku in Azerbaijan, to Tashkent in Uzbekistan, and to Almaty in Kazakhstan from August onwards.

The execution of this international expansion is an integral part in IndiGo’s strategy of moving across new frontiers under CEO, Pieter Elbers, who joined the airline ten months ago after a long stint as head of Netherlands’ flag carrier KLM, the airline said.

It will also resume daily services from Delhi to Hong Kong in August after a three-year hiatus.

"….will help us expand our footprint across four continents with Africa and Central Asia being penetrated for the first time. With this expansion in our network, we will now be directly touching 32 international destinations (up from 26), next to our 78 domestic destinations," Elbers said.

Indigoalso plans to enhance presence in Middle East by connecting Dammam to Lucknow, Chennai, and Kochi, Abu Dhabi to Goa, Lucknow, and Ahmedabad, Ras Al Khaimah to Hyderabad, Bahrain to Kochi and Jeddah to Ahmedabad over the next few months. Separately, IndiGo will also introduce more frequencies on Mumbai-Dhaka route in August.

The airline will also commence exclusive flights from Bhubaneshwar to Singapore and Bangkok from June 2023.

IndiGo has also been in talks with aircraft makers to buy up to 20 wide-body aircraft as it seeks to expand its international operations, Mint reported in April citing three people familiar with the matter.

With its fleet of over 300 aircraft, the airline is operating over 1800 daily flights and connecting 78 domestic destinations and 26 international destinations. As of April, the airline held 57.5% share in the domestic aviation market, as per data from Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

Updated: 02 Jun 2023, 06:28 PM IST