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India has granted IndiGo a six-month extension to continue leasing two aircraft from Turkish Airlines, the country’s largest carrier said on Thursday.
The marks a reversal of a decision from May when New Delhi told IndiGo to end the arrangement by Aug. 31.
The new extension expires on Feb. 28 next year, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The extension will help IndiGo cut losses caused by geopolitical restrictions, the airline said, referring to an airspace ban imposed by Pakistan on Indian airlines earlier this year that has led to longer routes and higher costs.
IndiGo added that the extension was subject to conditions laid down by India’s aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which was not immediately available for a comment outside regular hours. IndiGo said it had requested the extension.
“This extension provides much-needed continuity and stability in operations,” an IndiGo spokesperson said in a statement.
IndiGo’s partnership with Turkish Airlines has faced criticism in India over what the country said was Türkiye’s support for Pakistan during the recent conflict between the two South Asian neighbors.
The conflict began when India launched strikes on May 7 against what it said were “terrorist camps” in Pakistan following an April attack in Indian-administered Kashmir in which 26 people were killed.
New Delhi blamed Islamabad for backing the armed groups it claimed were behind the attack – the deadliest on civilians in Kashmir in decades. Pakistan denied the charge.
A cease-fire was brokered on May 10.
The tie-up between IndiGo and Turkish Airlines had also annoyed rival Air India, which lobbied the Indian government to halt the partnership, Reuters reported in May.
The DGCA said in May it had denied IndiGo’s request for a six-month extension and approved only three months.
The new extension is a boost to IndiGo after it reported slower first-quarter revenue growth, as border tensions between India and Pakistan and a fatal crash of an Air India jet weighed on demand.
Since 2023, Turkish Airlines has leased to IndiGo two wide-body Boeing 777 aircraft with pilots and some crew.
The aircraft currently operate on the Delhi-Istanbul and Mumbai-Istanbul routes, allowing IndiGo to carry more passengers compared with the narrow-bodies it operated previously.
