Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Dec 16: IndiGo Airlines announced on Friday that it had submitted an application to the DGCA seeking final authorization to operate two Boeing 777 aircraft being leased from Turkish Airlines (hire planes with operating crew and engineers).
The airline said in a statement that it gained in-principle approval for the introduction of the two aircraft.
“In coordination with the process of these approvals, IndiGo will soon make this 777-capacity available for sale on the Delhi – Istanbul – Delhi route, subject to regulatory approvals,” said the airline.
“We are working closely with the authorities to ensure all the required steps to obtain the approvals are completed well in time and will consider the earliest the go-live date for these aircraft in line with expected receipt of requisite approvals,” added the airlines.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation earlier in October had turned down IndiGo’s request to wet lease the aircraft from Turkish Airlines for a year (extendable by one year) since the law only permits for three months, extendable by another three months. In India, wet leasing is only permitted to address unexpected capacity limitations.
In conjunction with a powerful foreign carrier, the regulator viewed IndiGo’s request as a diversion of traffic rights that would solely benefit the latter’s hub. IndiGo requested special clearance from the Ministry of Civil Aviation to introduce the wide-body aircraft after the DGCA rejected its request.
Given the problems with the global supply chain, IndiGo hopes that this wet lease option will also help it make better use of its A321 narrow-body aircraft and continue network deployment.
