IndiGo CEO responds to DGCA deadline to end Turkish lease, says it will help in finding solution for customers

IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers on Sunday said that the three-month extension, granted till August 2025, for the 'damp-leased' aircraft from Turkish Airlines by DGCA 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.

On May 15, aviation security watchdog BCAS revoked the security clearance for Turkish company Celebi Airport Services India Pvt Ltd in the "interest of national security". Some online travel portals and associations have also issued advisories asking people not to visit Turkiye.

Currently, IndiGo is operating two B777-300 ER aircraft under damp lease from Turkish Airlines and the current lease is to expire on May 31. These planes are used by IndiGo to operate direct flights from Delhi and Mumbai to Istanbul.

However, the regulator said that 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 upto 31.08.2025 for these damp leased aircraft.

Last week, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said the civil aviation ministry was taking inputs from IndiGo and security agencies on the airline's use of planes leased from Turkish Airlines and then will decide on the way forward.