India’s civil aviation regulator has approved only a three-month extension for an aircraft leasing agreement between Turkish Airlines (THY) and India’s largest airline, IndiGo, setting an end date of August 31, far shorter than the six months IndiGo had sought, Reuters reported.
The decision means IndiGo must terminate its lease with THY by the end of August and look for alternatives due to an unofficial boycott over Ankara’s support for Pakistan in the recent Kashmir conflict.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), India’s national regulatory body for civil aviation, described the extension for the lease of two Boeing 777-300ER aircraft as a “one-time, last and final” decision.
The regulator also announced that a longstanding codeshare agreement between IndiGo and THY would be terminated on the same date, compelling India’s largest domestic airline to seek alternative strategies for its long-haul international network.
The codeshare pact, in place since 2018, had allowed IndiGo to connect passengers from India to various European and US destinations via Istanbul, which effectively served as a transcontinental gateway for the low-cost Indian carrier.
In 2023 the partnership was deepened when IndiGo leased two Boeing 777-300ERs from THY, aircraft equipped with Turkish crew members, to operate high-capacity routes between New Delhi and Mumbai and Istanbul.
This aviation development comes amid deteriorating India-Turkey relations, following remarks by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his foreign ministry expressing concern over India’s airstrikes in Kashmir and warning of a potential broader conflict.
Their comments came after Pakistan and India exchanged small arms fire across the Line of Control, the de facto border in the disputed Kashmir region, a territory claimed by both India and Pakistan, with a long history of conflict, over several consecutive nights in late April. Cross-border fighting continued for four days before a ceasefire was declared.
Turkey’s response has triggered a surge of nationalist sentiment in India, with calls to boycott Turkish goods, services and partnerships.
Indian businesses, universities and consumers are cutting ties with Turkey after Ankara voiced support for Pakistan.
On May 16 rival carrier Air India urged Indian authorities to revoke IndiGo’s lease deal with THY, citing concerns about national security and unfair market competition. This appeal followed widespread calls in India for punitive action against entities seen to be aligned with Turkish interests.
Grassroots responses have been swift and expansive. Indian trade organizations such as the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) have convened national conferences calling for a halt to all imports and exports with Turkey and Azerbaijan.
India’s aviation ministry also revoked the security clearance of Turkish ground-handling firm Çelebi, which operates at nine Indian airports. The company has filed a legal challenge, saying the move will disrupt international operations.
Çelebi argues that since it is privately owned and not an organization controlled by the Turkish government, with global blue-chip investors holding a 65 per cent stake, it should be allowed to continue its operations irrespective of Ankara’s geopolitical affiliations.
Tourism has also been hit hard. Travel bookings to Turkey and Azerbaijan fell 60 percent, while cancellations jumped 250 percent last week, according to Indian media reports. Travel agents including MakeMyTrip and EaseMyTrip have suspended package offerings to the region, according to a BBC report.
Indian political figures have echoed this sentiment. “Every hardworking Indian traveling abroad understands that their hard-earned rupees should not support those who aid our adversaries,” said Rajeev Chandrasekhar, a member of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party Bharatiya Janata. However, Turkish officials have not publicly responded to the comments, and no formal diplomatic resolution has been proposed so far.
The boycott is affecting trade in agriculture and construction materials. Indian farmers have welcomed the decline in Turkish apple imports, hoping for better local prices. In Udaipur, a hub for marble processing, traders have stopped importing Turkish marble, which previously made up 70 percent of the supply.
Despite these highly visible gestures, analysts note that economic interdependence between the two countries remains limited. Trade between India and Turkey is modest, Turkey sourced just 2 percent of its imports from India and exported only 0.5 percent of its goods to India in 2024.
Turkey’s key exports to India include machinery and fruit, but overall volumes are low. Similarly, tourism links are minimal: Of the 52 million foreign tourists who visited Turkey in 2024, only about 330,000 were Indian nationals. In other words, out of every 1,000 tourists visiting Turkey, only 5 were from India.
Analysts suggest that the impact of the boycott campaigns may be limited due to India, the world’s most populous country, not holding significant importance for Turkey in terms of trade or tourism. Responding to questions from BBC News Hindi, Dr. Omair Anas of Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University also attributed Turkey’s willingness to support Pakistan, despite provoking India’s reaction, to this lack of dependence.