IndiGo, India’s largest airline, is amid international expansion and has announced the operation of new flights between India and the Middle East. The carrier is set to enhance connectivity to the Middle East with daily service to Muscat and Abu Dhabi. Beginning March 26, 2023, IndiGo will operate non-stop daily flights on the Hyderabad-Abu Dhabi, Chennai-Abu Dhabi, and Chennai-Muscat routes.
New connections to Muscat and Abu Dhabi
Gurgaon-headquartered IndiGo will offer new connections to cater to the increasing leisure and business travel demand between India and the Middle East. As a part of this expansion, the carrier will link Hyderabad to Abu Dhabi and Chennai to Abu Dhabi and Muscat daily. Adding new flights will bring more choices and increased accessibility options for customers traveling to/from the Middle East. This will especially benefit medical students and tourists who go to Muscat and Abu Dhabi for study and vacation, respectively.
IndiGo’s new flight schedule to Abu Dhabi and Muscat is published as follows:
- 6E 1407: Hyderabad to Abu Dhabi; departure at 20: 05, arrival at 22:30 local time
- 6E 1408: Abu Dhabi to Hyderabad; departure at 23:30, arrival at 4:50 local time
- 6E 1411: Chennai to Abu Dhabi; departure at 22: 45, arrival at 1: 35 local time
- 6E 1412: Abu Dhabi to Chennai; departure at 2: 35, arrival at 8: 15 local time
- 6E 1275: Chennai to Muscat; departure at 0:45, arrival at 3: 00 local time
- 6E 1276: Muscat to Chennai; departure at 4:00 and arrival at 9: 20 local time
IndiGo will commence all these non-stop flights daily, effective March 26, 2023 (the Abu Dhabi-Chennai flight will commence on March 27).
The low-cost giant will deploy Airbus A320 to operate:
- 03 hours 55 min non-stop flight from Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad (HYD) to Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH)
- 03 hours 45 min journey from Chennai International Airport (MAA) to Muscat International Airport (MCT)
- 04 hours 20 min non-stop flight from Chennai International Airport (MAA) to Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH)
IndiGo’s existing operations in the Middle East
IndiGo is a major player and has a considerable presence in the Gulf region. It operates out of 6 hubs to provide regular service to Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. From its hubs at Delhi (DEL) and Mumbai (BOM), the budget carrier regularly flies to Abu Dhabi, Dammam, Doha, Dubai, Jeddah, Riyadh, and Kuwait City.
Similarly, it connects Kempegowda Airport (BLR) to the Middle Eastern cities of Doha and Dubai. Likewise, IndiGo currently operates flights to Doha, Dubai, and Kuwait from its hub at Chennai International Airport. Adding Abu Dhabi and Muscat will increase IndiGo’s presence to 5 Middle East destinations from Chennai.
Currently, HYD Airport features IndiGo’s routes to 7 Gulf cities, including Dammam, Doha, Dubai, Kuwait, Muscat, Riyadh, and Sharjah. India’s largest carrier also uses its Kochi hub (COK) to offer flights to Doha, Dubai, Kuwait, and Muscat. The only IndiGo base that doesn’t provide direct access to the Middle East is Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Airport (CCU), Kolkata.
IndiGo’s growing international presence in Europe
To have a firm grasp over international markets, IndiGo is also commencing new one-stop flights to 9 European countries. Through its codeshare agreement with Turkish Airlines, IndiGo will launch 141 weekly connecting flights via Istanbul to Malta, Hungary, Belgium, Israel, Netherlands, Denmark, Greece, Czech Republic, and Belgium.
As the world of travel reopens, IndiGo will enhance international connectivity to provide convenient travel options for passengers. The low-cost carrier will offer twice-daily frequency on routes to Athens, Amsterdam, Budapest, Copenhagen, Malta, and Prague from Istanbul. Similarly, it will carry out three daily codeshare flights to Brussels and Tel Aviv.
With the operation of new one-stop flights, IndiGo will bolster its connectivity to 15 countries in Europe. The latest addition will bring IndiGo’s codeshare flights to 335 average weekly operations. The carrier had already provided its customers the connectivity to Portugal, Switzerland, Austria, France, England, and Italy via the codeshare partnership.
Introducing new connecting flights will increase IndiGo’s capacity and provide its customers with convenient and hassle-free travel options to/from Europe. Under the codeshare agreement, passengers booking an IndiGo ticket for Istanbul can easily connect to 15 European countries via Turkish Airlines. The Indian premium carrier IndiGo will operate the first leg of the European outbound flight to Istanbul. Then, Turkish Airlines will operate the next leg of the flight itinerary to Europe.
