India's IndiGo may fast-track some overseas growth as westward flights disrupted

By Abhijith Ganapavaram

NEW DELHI, Nov 2 (Reuters) - IndiGo INGL.NS may move capacity into some international markets sooner than it had planned as an airspace ban over Pakistan and disruption in the Middle East interrupt westbound flights for India's largest airline, its CEO said on Monday.

Willie Walsh, who became IndiGo CEO in August, said the airline has cut about 30 flights a day because of the security situation in Saudi Arabia but has restored nearly all of the rest of its network.

Attacks on Riyadh's main airport in October, which were claimed by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis, forced airlines to cancel flights to the kingdom.

The disruptions pose a challenge for IndiGo as it seeks to expand beyond its dominant domestic market and take on established international carriers.

Last month, it ended its arrangement to lease Boeing 787 jets from Norse Atlantic Airways after high fuel costs, airspace restrictions and currency pressures undermined the operation, suspending its wide-body flights ahead of planned Airbus A350 deliveries in 2028.

Asked whether the disruptions could force IndiGo to focus more on Asia-Pacific and Australasia rather than destinations to the west of India, Walsh, a former British Airways and IATA chief, said: "I wouldn’t use the word forced to look because these are markets that we’re looking at anyway."

"It may be that we'll allocate capacity to certain markets earlier than we had intended to do, but they're all growth opportunities," he told reporters in New Delhi. He did not specify which markets.

Walsh said Pakistan's airspace closure affected flights from Delhi, but the airline had "a lot of opportunity" to expand long-haul flying from other major Indian cities.

Pakistan has barred Indian airlines from its airspace since April 2025, forcing longer westbound routes.

The ban followed a deadly attack on tourists in Indian Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on Islamabad, which denied involvement, sparking a brief military conflict weeks later.

Since then the ban has been renewed monthly.