Air India lobbies the government to stop partnering with Turkish airlines in Indigo leasing: Report
Air India lobbies Indian officials have stopped leasing partnerships with rival Indigo and Turkish Airlines and are seeing security concerns arising from business impact and Istanbul’s support for Pakistan, which was seen by Reuters.
Indians have been canceling holidays amid growing anger over Turkey’s position on Pakistan in the Indian-Pakistan conflict. The Indian government on Thursday revoked the security permit of Türkiye’s ground treatment service company on the grounds of national security.
Since 2023, Indigo has made a lease arrangement with state-backed Turkish Airlines, which provides two aircraft with pilots and some crew members to Indigo for a route to Indigo in New Delhi-to-Mumbai to Mumbai to Istanbul.
Air India has asked India’s civil aviation ministry not to allow duplicate extensions of the lease agreement, which must be renewed every six months, believes that it has benefited Turkey and hurt India’s aviation sector, and submitted information from some Indian government departments according to Reuters.
The document said the aircraft rental arrangements have led to a “significant improvement in seat capacity” in Türkiye, which has also promoted the country’s tourism industry.
Air India and Turkish Airlines and the Ministry of Aviation of India did not respond to Reuters’ questions.
Indigo said in a statement that its partnership with Turkish Airlines, which also includes a codesharing agreement that “provides a variety of benefits for Indian travelers” to boost aviation growth and employment opportunities and “enables Indigo to build its operations in long-distance markets in Europe and the United States.”
The Indian Air Policy says the government can approve a six-month lease deal in the case of “emerging” or “unforeseeable” situations, but can be expanded.
Another source with direct knowledge said that the final expansion of Indigo is for the expiration of such leases and that the carrier has applied for the expansion.
Like Air India and other global airlines, Indigo faces delivery delays due to supply chain disruptions affecting Planemaker Boeing and Airbus.
Sources added that India has also attracted national security concerns in discussions with Indian officials following India’s strike in Pakistan following a radical attack in Kashmir, India.
Pakistan denies participating in the attack.
When Celebi’s approval was revoked on Thursday, India’s junior aviation minister Murlidhar Mohol said on X: “We have received a request from all over India to ban Celebi…recognizing the seriousness of this problem and the call to protect national interests, our awareness of these requirements.”
Additionally, since 2018, Indigo’s code-sharing partnership with Turkish Airlines has allowed it to provide its customers with many international destinations.
Sources added that Tata Group-owned Air India told government officials that the airline, as well as India’s aviation division, lost operations due to long-haul flights to the U.S. and Europe due to more profits from Turkey, the source said.
“The code sharing partnership between Indigo and Turkish Airlines provides an additional revenue stream for Turkish Airlines, further enhancing their financial gains,” the document said.
