IndiGo Allowed To Lease Planes, Crew For Only Up To 6 Months

The aviation regulator turned down the request of the country's largest airline to wet lease the aircraft for a longer period.

Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has allowed IndiGo to wet lease wide-body Boeing planes from Turkish Airlines for up to six months and has rejected the domestic carrier's request for leasing the aircraft for up to two years, according to sources.

The aviation regulator turned down the request of the country's largest airline to wet lease the aircraft for a longer period, citing that the move could become diversion of traffic rights in collusion with a strong foreign carrier that will mainly feed the latter's hub abroad with more passengers from India, the sources said.

IndiGo, which currently has only narrow-body planes in its fleet, decided to lease wide-body aircraft to operate more flights on international routes to meet rising demand.

Currently, there are also supply issues from engine makers Pratt & Whitney and CFM as a result of which many Airbus A320 planes of IndiGo and Go First are on the ground.