The central government will hold discussion with IndiGo on its codeshare and aircraft-leasing agreements with Turkish Airlines, said the Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu.
According to Naidu, the ministry will seek inputs from IndiGo about their codeshare and other agreements with Turkish Airlines on the grounds of national security.
“Presently, we are taking input from IndiGo on that and also from the necessary security agencies,” Naidu said at an event in New Delhi on late Friday evening.
The development comes a few days after IndiGo’s CEO Pieter Elbers told the reporters that the airline is fully compliant with all applicable laws and that it works inside the guardrails of the regulatory framework of the country.
Besides, Elbers emphasised that it is for the government to decide on the airline’s application to renew its damp leases of two Boeing 777 aircraft from Turkish Airlines.
Sources had earlier told businessline that IndiGo is preparing a contingency plan to mitigate any impact on operations if the damp-leased Boeing 777 aircraft are returned to the lessor, Turkish Airlines.
The possibility of returning these aircraft has grown after a massive public outcry called for the cancellation of India’s civil aviation links with Turkey.
The West Asian country faces the Indian public’s ire for its open support for Pakistan during ‘Operation Sindhoor.’
Interestingly, the public outcry and the renewal of the Boeing 777’s lease have coincided.
At present, IndiGo has damp-leased two Boeing 777s with a seating capacity of over 500. These aircraft are being operated on the Delhi-Istanbul and Mumbai-Istanbul routes.
The plan, according to sources, calls for replacing the damp-leased Boeing 777 aircraft with either Airbus A321neo or the 787-9 Dreamliners on its India-Turkey routes.
Earlier, IndiGo defended the codeshare agreement with Turkish Airlines by citing benefits for travellers as well as India’s economy.
As per IndiGo, the arrangement with Turkish Airlines has increased seat availability for Indian passengers at reasonable airfares, particularly during a time when long-haul international airfares have risen due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The airline had pointed out that Turkish Airlines was the sole carrier on the India-Turkey route, and the codeshare has helped shift the balance in favour of Indian travellers and the economy.
The codeshare comes under the framework of the Air Services Agreement (ASA) between India and Turkey, which allows for 56 flights per week between the two countries.
Furthermore, the airline said that the codeshare agreement has made international travel more accessible and affordable, allowing passengers to benefit from cost-effective two-stop flights from smaller Indian cities to Europe and the USA.
Currently, IndiGo offers codeshare seats to travellers to more than 40 points in Europe and the US through its partnership with Turkish Airlines.
Published on May 24, 2025