IndiGo Airlines (6E, Delhi International) is adjusting its Istanbul Airport operations pending A321-200NY(XLR) deliveries and the exit of two wet-leased B777-300ERs.

The Hindu BusinessLine daily reported that IndiGo has secured regulatory approval to operate flights to Istanbul from Mumbai International and Delhi International with a technical stop at Ras al Khaimah International, effective February 28, 2026.

This operational adjustment is necessary to maintain the route even as the damp-leases for two B777-300ERs currently provided by Turkish Airlines are due to end by the end of March 2026 for regulatory reasons.

The interim one-stop A320 service will continue until IndiGo inducts its second A321-200NY(XLR), which is expected by late March 2026.

Hiring drive starts

Separately, the airline plans to recruit over 1,000 pilots to stabilise operations following severe disruptions in December 2025, The Economic Times daily has reported.

The recruitment drive follows the cancellation of over 5,000 flights in a single week in December due to crew shortages.

A probe by regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) found that IndiGo had not aligned its hiring with its growth trajectory. Inquiries into the crisis revealed that while the carrier required 2,422 captains to maintain operations, it only had 2,357 available. The regulator noted that the airline's scheduling practices maximised crew utilisation, leading to frequent reassignments and extended duty periods.

To improve resilience, IndiGo has increased its network planning buffer from near-zero in December to 3% this month, with standby crew availability raised to a minimum of 15%. The airline is upgrading 20-25 first officers to captains monthly and continues to take delivery of approximately four aircraft per month.

ch-aviation fleets data shows IndiGo operates a 424-strong in-house fleet, comprising twenty-six A320-200s, 180 A320-200Ns, three A321-200(P2F)s, 168 A321-200NX, one A321-200NY(XLR), and forty-six ATR72-600s. The LCC is also wet-leasing five A320-200s, four A321-200NX, one B737-8, four B737-800s, two B777-300ERs, and six B787-9s.