‘It helps us’: IndiGo CEO on Turkish Airlines aircraft lease agreement extension

NEW DELHI: IndiGo Airlines CEO Pieter Elbers said that the one-time, last and final three-month extension, granted till August 2025, for the ‘damp-leased’ aircraft from Turkish Airlines will help the airline manage ongoing operations and customer commitments.

“…we have the coming month to find a solution for the customers which were booked. The extension helps us, of course, to have more time to get that addressed, and we’ll look, we’ll look at how to address it and how to incorporate it. So we still have time for the next few months to do that”, the CEO said during a press conference in the national capital. “There’s been a government decision, and we will, of course, be compliant with the government decision,” he added.

On May 30, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) granted IndiGo the one-time, last and final extension for the “damp-leased” aircraft from Turkish Airlines. The lease was initially valid till May 31, 2025. “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”, the DGCA said.

“This extension is 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”, the DGCA had added.

#WATCH | Delhi: IndiGo signs an MoU with Airbus for buying 30 Airbus A350-900.

IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers says, “…We can’t wait for Airbus to deliver the A350s…” pic.twitter.com/ML7ryHRyDG

— ANI (@ANI) June 1, 2025

Earlier on Sunday, IndiGo announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Airbus to enlarge its wide-body aircraft order by converting 30 aircraft of its purchase rights for 70 aircraft into a firm order. “This is yet another step in defining the airline’s long-term plans of international expansion,” IndiGo said.

In April 2024, IndiGo decided to induct widebody aircraft into its fleet by placing a firm order for 30 A350-900 aircraft, with purchase rights for an additional 70 aircraft. The original order’s deliveries are expected to start in 2027.

“This strategic move will enable IndiGo to spread its wings further and expand its long-haul international network, connecting Indian metros to different parts of the world. With this, it will create more travel options for its customers to new international destinations and also enable more flights to the hubs of its partner airlines,” said an IndiGo statement.

IndiGo’s Airbus A350-900 aircraft will be powered by Rolls Royce’s Trent XWB engine. In March 2025, IndiGo began preparing for its long-haul operations by introducing six temporarily leased wide-body aircraft, the deliveries of which will be concluded by 2026.

“India is the world’s third largest aviation market today. With the Government’s commitment to ensure India comes into her own on the world stage of aviation leadership by building cutting-edge infrastructure and developing the country into a global aviation hub, the opportunity is one of enormous growth,” IndiGo added.

With its fleet of 400+ aircraft, the airline is operating around 2200+ daily flights, connecting 90+ domestic and 40+ international destinations, inducted 58 aircraft in 2024 and welcomed over 118 million customers in 2024-25. (ANI)