NEW DELHI, India: IndiGo is weighing an accelerated push into overseas markets as a Pakistani airspace ban and Middle‑East flight disruptions curb its westbound services, its chief executive said Monday.
Willie Walsh, who took over as IndiGo’s CEO in August, reported that the carrier has trimmed roughly 30 daily flights because of the security concerns in Saudi Arabia, though it has largely reinstated the remainder of its schedule.
October attacks on Riyadh’s primary airport, claimed by Yemen’s Iran‑aligned Houthi group, forced airlines to suspend flights to Saudi Arabia.
These interruptions present a challenge for IndiGo as the airline pursues expansion beyond India’s domestic stronghold and competes with seasoned international carriers.
In the past month, IndiGo terminated its lease‑agreement for Boeing 787 aircraft from Norse Atlantic Airways, citing high fuel expenses, airspace constraints and currency pressures that hampered the operation, and consequently paused its wide‑body services pending the 2028 delivery of Airbus A350s.
When asked if the disruptions might compel IndiGo to prioritize Asia‑Pacific and Australasia over western destinations, Walsh—formerly of British Airways and IATA—responded, “I wouldn’t use the word ‘forced’ because those are markets we are already targeting anyway.”
He told reporters in New Delhi, “It could mean we allocate capacity to certain markets sooner than originally planned, but all of them represent growth opportunities.” He declined to name specific destinations.
Walsh noted that Pakistan’s airspace closure impacted Delhi‑based flights, yet IndiGo sees “substantial opportunity” to broaden long‑haul services from other key Indian hubs.
Pakistan has prohibited Indian carriers from its airspace since April 2025, compelling longer westbound routing for those flights.
The ban stemmed from a deadly attack on tourists in Indian Kashmir that New Delhi attributed to Islamabad, which denied responsibility, leading to a brief military clash weeks afterward.
Since then, the ban has been renewed on a month‑to‑month basis.
