IndiGo To Launch Inaugural Central Asia And Africa Routes

IndiGo has confirmed plans to launch flights to six new international destinations, including the airline’s first foray into Central Asia and Africa.

The Indian LCC plans to commence service from Mumbai to Nairobi, Kenya, and Jakarta, Indonesia, either in late July or early August. Additionally, IndiGo will be opening four routes from Delhi, connecting the city with Tbilisi, Georgia; Baku, Azerbaijan; Tashkent, Uzbekistan; and Almaty, Kazakhstan.

IndiGo will also resume operations daily services from Delhi to Hong Kong in August. The route was suspended at the onset of the pandemic and has remained absent from its network ever since.

“With this expansion in our network, we will now be directly touching 32 international destinations (up from 26), next to our 78 domestic destinations,” IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers says.

Flights to Tbilisi and Baku are scheduled to begin in August, operating three times per week and four times per week respectively. Service to Tashkent and Almaty will start in September, with four round trips per week and three per week respectively.

According to OAG Schedules Analyser data, there are three nonstop routes linking India and Kenya at the present time. Kenya Airways serves Mumbai-Nairobi twice a day, Air India connects Delhi and Nairobi three times per week, and Rwandair links Mumbai and Mombasa as part of a Mumbai-Mombasa-Kigali routing.

IndiGo will compete on the Delhi-Tashkent sector with Uzbekistan Airways’ 6X-weekly service; on Delhi-Baku with Azerbaijan Airlines’ 3X-weekly flights; and on Delhi-Almaty with Air Astana’s 9X-weekly operations. However, the carrier will become the sole provider of nonstop service in the Mumbai-Jakarta and Delhi-Tbilisi markets.

Elsewhere, IndiGo’s Middle East expansion plans include connecting Dammam to Lucknow, Chennai, and Kochi; Abu Dhabi to Goa, Lucknow, and Ahmedabad; Ras Al Khaimah to Hyderabad; Bahrain to Kochi and Jeddah to Ahmedabad over the next few months.

Additionally, the LCC plans to increase frequencies between Mumbai and Dhaka, Bangladesh, in August. Service from Bhubaneshwar to Singapore and Bangkok will also commence in June, while the airline is evaluating the launch of international service from North Goa Airport.