Airline major IndiGo plans to further expand international services with direct flight services between India and the Seychelles, sources told businessline.
Accordingly, the regulatory permissions have been obtained by the airline to start services to Seychelles International Airport, which is located on the island of Mahé near the capital city of Victoria.
In addition to the Seychelles, IndiGo is expected to add new destinations across Asia, namely to Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, and Laos.
Besides, it plans to increase flight frequency on existing international routes and connect Tier-I cities to overseas destinations.
The airline is able to expand its international footprint via the deployment of its medium-range A321neo aircraft, flights from multiple hubs, as well as a codeshare strategy.
However, sources pointed out that the timelines of these new services might get delayed due to the return of two Boeing 777s leased from Turkish Airways.
At present, the airline is working with the Ministry of Civil Aviation to explore solutions to extend the 777s wet lease as its AOG (Aircraft on Ground) related capacity constraints still presist.
On its part, the airline did not elicit any response to the story.
Recently, during the second quarter results, IndiGo’s management said that demand for international travel is strong and the airline is scouting for new markets.
In a post-earnings analyst call, IndiGo’s Chief Executive Pieter Elbers said that the airline will expand its international operations by adding services to five new overseas destinations, including Langkawi and Penang in Malaysia.
It is expected that the airline will operate to over 40 international destinations by the end of FY25. At present, it operates to over 30 overseas destinations.
The airline has announced the launch of its second overseas flight from Pune to Dubai, starting on November 22, 2024, and daily direct services between Bengaluru and Langkawi, Malaysia, from December 16.
Last year, IndiGo connected Jakarta in Indonesia, Tbilisi in Georgia, Baku (Azerbaijan), Tashkent (Uzbekistan), and Almaty (Kazakhstan) to Indian cities.