Govt asks IndiGo airlines to stop lease of Turkish aircraft

Centre has asked IndiGo to end its aircraft lease agreement with Turkish Airlines within three months. The action comes just weeks after the government revoked the security clearance for a Turkey-linked firm, Celebi Aviation, which handled services at nine key airports in India, including Delhi.

IndiGo, which has leased and operates two Boeing 777s from Turkish Airlines, had a permit to do so until May 31 and had



sought an extension from the Ministry of Civil Aviation for six months. The ministry has refused to allow this.

A statement from the ministry, however, said that “to avoid passenger inconvenience due to immediate flight disruption”, IndiGo has been granted a three-month extension till August 31. The ministry made it clear that this will not be extended further.