IndiGo (6E/IGO) operated its first regular flight with a wide body aircraft on February 1st, 2023, marking the inauguration of its new and first route to Europe, Delhi (DEL/VIDP) – Istanbul (IST/LTFM). The aircraft used was a Turkish Airlines (TK/THY) Boeing 777-300(ER) registered TC-LKA, under a damp lease agreement. Initially, this agreement was scheduled to run until May 2025, but the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) granted IndiGo a final three-month extension.
As you can see through our database, on February 1st, 2023 at 07:24 local time, the inaugural flight to Istanbul departed Indira Gandhi International Airport. It landed in the Turkish city at 11:41 local time after a 6-hour and 47-minute flight.
The aircraft performed the Delhi-Istanbul route until May 30th, 2023, being replaced by another Boeing 777-300(ER). Since then, flights 6E11 and 6E12 are usually operated on the 777 with registration TC-LKE, which has a high-density seating configuration.
In May 2023, IndiGo inaugurated its second route with wide body aircraft, also focused on the India-Türkiye market and conducted by Turkish Airlines’ Boeing 777-300(ER). This Triple Seven, registered TC-LKB, commenced services for IndiGo on May 17th, 2023 with flight 6E17/6E18 between Mumbai (BOM/VABB) and Istanbul (IST/LTFM), which it covered until late June 2023. As of July 2023, the route began to be provided by Turkish Boeing 777-300(ER) aircraft configured for 531 passengers (TC-LKD or TC-LKE).
Turkish, then Norse
IndiGo confirmed its first major expansion into Europe by April 2025, with the launch of two new scheduled routes. As with Istanbul, these services were planned to be operated by aircraft from other airlines, with Norse Atlantic Airways (N0/NBT) being chosen in this case, under another damp lease agreement.
Amsterdam (AMS/EHAM) and Manchester (MAN/EGCC) have joined IndiGo’s regular schedule from/to Mumbai airport, offering three weekly flights on each route. Both connections, which started in early July 2025, are performed by the same aircraft: Norse’s Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner with registry LN-FNC.
In contrast to Turkish’s Boeing 777-300(ER), the 787-9 did not receive the IndiGo livery, but does have the airline’s titles on the fuselage. The aircraft seats 338 passengers in two classes (56 seats in Premium and 282 seats in Economy), the same configuration it had when flying for Norwegian Air UK between May 2018 and March 2020.
Wide body schedule
IndiGo currently has 20 flights a week with wide body aircraft, all of them between India and Europe. These are their schedules and frequencies.
Delhi – Istanbul
Daily
- 6E 11 Delhi DEL 06:40 · 11:55 IST Istanbul
- 6E 12 Istanbul IST 18:35 · 05:00+1 DEL Delhi
With this schedule, IndiGo offers 7,434 weekly seats between India and Türkiye and vice versa, with 3,717 seats per week on each route. Of the 3,717 seats, 49 are in Business and 3,668 are in Economy.
Mumbai – Istanbul
Daily
- 6E 17 Mumbai BOM 06:55 · 11:50 IST Istanbul
- 6E 18 Istanbul IST 19:20 · 04:50+1 BOM Mumbai
August 31st, 2025, will be IndiGo’s last flight with Turkish Airlines’ Boeing 777-300(ER) aircraft. At first, the Indian airline had requested a six-month extension, which was rejected, but it did manage to obtain a three-month extension.
Mumbai – Amsterdam
IndiGo Airlines’ inaugural flight departed Mumbai for Amsterdam at 05:47 local time on July 2nd, where it landed at 11:00 local time. The Dutch capital joins IndiGo’s network for the first time.
Wednesday, Friday and Sunday
- 6E 21 Mumbai BOM 05:20 · 11:00 AMS Amsterdam
- 6E 22 Amsterdam AMS 14:00 · 02:25+1 BOM Mumbai
It will increase its flights from three to four a week as of September 22nd.
Mumbai – Manchester
At 04:37 local time on July 1st, IndiGo’s first flight to Manchester took off from Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. As with the Netherlands, this new route marks the company’s first foray into the United Kingdom.
Mumbai-Manchester will be the longest route in its network, both in terms of distance and total flight time.
Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday
- 6E 31 Mumbai BOM 04:25 · 10:05 MAN Manchester
- 6E 32 Manchester MAN 12:05 · 01:55+1 BOM Mumbai
Effective September 23rd, IndiGo will provide daily flights on this route.
Network
IndiGo has an important international schedule from India, with flights to Africa, East Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Mumbai is its main international base, with flights to Bahrain, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Kenya, Kuwait, Maldives, Nepal, Netherlands, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Türkiye, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.
Ahmedabad (AMD/VAAH), Bengaluru (BLR/VOBL), Chennai (MAA/VOMM), Cochin (COK/VOCI), Delhi (DEL/VIDP) and Kolkata (CCU/VOCL) are some of the other bases where IndiGo offers international flights, mainly within Asia, as well as to Africa and the Middle East.
Fleet
Currently, in addition to operating on a damp lease agreement with wide body aircraft from Norse Atlantic Airways and Turkish Airlines, the Indian airline has narrow body aircraft from other carriers in its fleet, which serve domestic and international flights.
SmartLynx
IndiGo leases SmartLynx Airbus A320-200 aircraft from late 2024 through a wet-lease agreement. At the time of publication, as can be seen in our database, two SmartLynx A320s are operating for IndiGo, with 9H-SLD and 9H-SLE being their registration numbers.
Qatar
By mid-2024, IndiGo had incorporated Qatar Airways’ first Boeing 737 MAX 8 under a wet-lease agreement. It currently has seven 737 MAXs in its fleet (A7-BSA, A7-BSB, A7-BSC, A7-BSD, A7-BSE, A7-BSF and A7-BSI), flying mainly between India and Doha Hamad International Airport. Bengaluru, Chennai, Cochin, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kannur, and Mumbai are the routes performed to/from Doha.
Corendon
IndiGo added wet-leased aircraft to its fleet to strengthen temporary operational capacity and overcome supply chain issues. In addition to Qatar and SmartLynx, some of the airline’s flights were also operated by Corendon Airlines’ Boeing 737 aircraft until early 2025.
Aircraft from other airlines operating for IndiGo, at the time of publication:
| Aircraft | Airline | Registration | Config | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A320-214 | SmartLynx | 9H-SLD | Y180 | 17 years |
| Airbus A320-214 | SmartLynx | 9H-SLI | Y180 | 16 years |
| Boeing 737 MAX 8 | Qatar Airways | A7-BSA | C8Y168 | 6 years |
| Boeing 737 MAX 8 | Qatar Airways | A7-BSB | C8Y168 | 4 years |
| Boeing 737 MAX 8 | Qatar Airways | A7-BSC | C8Y168 | 4 years |
| Boeing 737 MAX 8 | Qatar Airways | A7-BSD | C8Y168 | 4 years |
| Boeing 737 MAX 8 | Qatar Airways | A7-BSE | C8Y168 | 3 years |
| Boeing 737 MAX 8 | Qatar Airways | A7-BSF | C8Y168 | 6 years |
| Boeing 737 MAX 8 | Qatar Airways | A7-BSI | C8Y168 | 5 years |
| Boeing 777-3Q8(ER) | Turkish Airlines | TC-LKD | C7Y524 | 16 years |
| Boeing 777-31H(ER) | Turkish Airlines | TC-LKE | C7Y524 | 18 years |
| Boeing 787-9 | Norse | LN-FNC | W56Y282 | 7 years |
IndiGo’s fleet and orders
With regard to IndiGo aircraft, the airline has 48 ATR 72-200, 28 Airbus A320-200, 183 Airbus A320neo, 3 Airbus A321-200(P2F) and 142 Airbus A321neo. In June 2023, IndiGo placed a massive order for more than 500 narrow-body aircraft from Airbus, and in June 2025 it ordered 69 Airbus A321XLRs, which will strengthen its expansion in East Africa, Europe and Northeast Asia.
Furthermore, IndiGo Airlines placed an order for 30 Airbus A350-900s in June 2024, which was doubled in June of the following year. The first A350s are scheduled to join the fleet starting in 2027.
Cover photo: © Konstantin von Wedelstaedt (Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Int’l – VABB – India)
