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IndiGo
Indian airline From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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InterGlobe Aviation Limited (d/b/a IndiGo), is an Indian airline headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana, India.[7] It is the largest airline in India by passengers carried and fleet size, with a 64.1% domestic market share as of April 2025.[8] It is the second largest Asian airline,[citation needed] and one of the largest in the world in terms of passengers carried, with more than 31.9 million passengers carried in the fourth quarter of 2025.[9] As of June 2025[update], IndiGo operates over 2,200 daily flights to 127 destinations – 91 domestic and 36 international.[10][11][12] It operates cargo services under its subsidiary, IndiGo CarGo.[2] Its primary hub is at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi.
The airline was established as a private company by Rahul Bhatia of InterGlobe Enterprises—an Indian multinational conglomerate based in Gurugram—[13] and Rakesh Gangwal in 2005. It took delivery of its first aircraft in July 2006 and commenced operations a month later, on 4 August 2006.[14] The airline became the largest Indian carrier by passenger market share in December 2012.[15] The company went public in October 2015.[16] IndiGo was ranked the 15th most punctual airline globally in 2022 by OAG.[17] It is also the 6th busiest airline in the world, as per data from RadarBox.[12]
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History
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IndiGo was founded in 2005 as a private company by Rahul Bhatia of InterGlobe Enterprises and Rakesh Gangwal, a United States–based expatriate Indian.[18] InterGlobe had a 51.12% stake in IndiGo, while 47.88% was held by Gangwal's Virginia-based company, Caelum Investments.[19][20] IndiGo placed a firm order for 100 Airbus A320-200 aircraft in June 2005 with plans to begin operations in mid-2006.[21] The airline took delivery of its first aircraft on 28 July 2006, nearly a year after placing the initial order.[22] It commenced operations on 4 August 2006 with a service from New Delhi to Imphal via Guwahati.[23] By the end of 2006, the airline had six aircraft, and nine more were acquired in 2007.[23]
In April 2007, IndiGo had crossed the 1 million-passenger mark.[24]
In April 2009, IndiGo crossed the 10 million-passenger mark and received delivery of its 25th aircraft.[24]
In December 2010, IndiGo replaced the then state-run carrier Air India, as the third largest airline in India, behind Kingfisher Airlines and Jet Airways with a passenger market share of 17.3%.[25]
In 2011, IndiGo placed an order for 180 Airbus A320 aircraft in a deal worth US$15 billion.[26] In January 2011, after completing five years of operations, the airline was permitted to launch international flights.[27] Also, in terms of market share, the company became the largest domestic carrier in India in this month.[24] In December 2011, the DGCA expressed reservations that the rapid expansion could impact passenger safety.[28]
In February 2012, IndiGo took delivery of its 50th aircraft, less than six years after it began operations.[29] For the quarter ending March 2012, IndiGo was the most profitable airline in India and became the second largest airline in India in terms of passenger market share.[30] On 17 August 2012, IndiGo became the largest airline in India in terms of market share surpassing Jet Airways, six years after commencing operations.[31] In December 2012, IndiGo crossed the 50 million-passenger mark.[24]
In January 2013, IndiGo was the second fastest-growing low-cost carrier in Asia behind Indonesian airline Lion Air.[32] In February 2013, following the announcement of the Civil Aviation Ministry that it would allow IndiGo to take delivery of only five aircraft that year, the airline planned to introduce low-cost regional flights by setting up a subsidiary. Later, IndiGo announced that it planned to seek permission from the ministry to acquire four more aircraft, therefore taking delivery of nine aircraft in 2013.[33] It took delivery of its 75th aircraft this month.[24] By March 2014, IndiGo was the second-largest low-cost carrier in Asia in terms of seats flown.[34]
In November 2014, IndiGo received its 100th aircraft. This completed IndiGo's initial 100-aircraft order, placed in 2005.[35]
In March 2015, the carrier crossed the 100 million-passenger mark. In August 2015, IndiGo placed an order for 250 Airbus A320neo aircraft worth $27 billion, making it the largest single order in Airbus history.[36] It announced a ₹3,018 crore (equivalent to ₹36 billion or US$420 million in 2023) initial public offering on 19 October 2015 which opened on 27 October 2015.[37][38][39]
In October 2017, IndiGo announced its plan to strengthen its regional operations with flight connections including routes to and from Tirupati, Rajahmundry, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, Mangalore, Madurai and Nagpur. 90 new flight connections were announced.[24] On November 2017, IndiGo took delivery of its first ATR 72-600.[40] In December 2017, the commencement of IndiGo's ATR operations in Hyderabad was announced.[24]
In October 2019, IndiGo placed an order for 300 Airbus A320neo aircraft worth ₹2.3 lakh crore (US$27 billion), surpassing its own record of the largest single order in Airbus history.[41][42] In December 2019, the airline became the first Indian airline to operate 1,500 daily flights.[43] On 31 December 2019, it became India's first airline to have a fleet of more than 250 aircraft.[44]
In 2020, 10 new domestic and 8 new international destinations were added.[24] IndiGo's fleet increased to 262 aircraft. 45 net aircraft were added during the year.[24] Over 75 million passengers were carried during the year 2020.[24]
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In January 2023, the airline became the first Indian airline to have a fleet of more than 300 aircraft.[45] In February 2023, the airline inducted its first wide-body aircraft, a wet-leased Boeing 777-300ER, to its fleet.[46] In June 2023, the airline placed an order for 500 Airbus A320neo family aircraft, the largest aircraft order in commercial aviation history.[47] As of November 2023, IndiGo had a 61.8% domestic market share.[48] In December 2023, IndiGo became the first Indian airline to have carried over 100 million passengers in a calendar year.[49]
In April 2024, it formally entered the wide-body space by placing an order of 30 A350-900s, with 70 options for $5 billion.[50] The delivery of these aircraft will commence in 2027.[51] On 14 November 2024, the airline's first A321neo with IndiGo's new business class product, IndiGoStretch,[52] entered service.[53]
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Corporate affairs
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IndiGo is headquartered in Gurgaon, India.[54] The company is publicly listed under the moniker NSE: INDIGO.[55]
Logo and livery
Twenty dots arranged in the shape of an aircraft serve as the airline's logo.[56] The airline's primary livery is an indigo and sky blue colour scheme which uses an indigo paint job that starts from the underbody fuselage and continues till the end of the tail section, along with sky blue accents around the fuselage and on the tail.[57] The winglets and engines of the aircraft are indigo in colour with the airline's link, "goindiGo.in", written on the engines in white in the same font as the IndiGo badging.[57][58] The IndiGo badging is written in the same indigo colour on both sides of the fuselage and the tail.[57][58] The airline uses a secondary two-tone blue livery on a white background with the belly of the aircraft painted in indigo with the logo in white.[59]
Flight attendants
The flight attendants wear a single-piece navy-blue tunic with a cap and a thin indigo belt.[60]
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Financials and operations
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IndiGo became one of the fastest growing low-cost carriers in the world and the largest airline in India.[32] Its success has been attributed to its unique business model which reduces costs.[30] The airline operates a single type of aircraft, the Airbus A320 family, in similar seating configuration which simplifies crew training and maintenance.[30] The airline strikes bulk deals with Airbus, reducing unit costs.[30] The airline targets a quick, 20-minute turn-around time to prepare the aircraft for the next flight, ensuring planes fly about 12 hours per day.[61] Employees share multiple roles with a check-in staff doubling as baggage handlers.[61] In July 2023, Indian aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation imposed a ₹30 lakh (US$35,000) fine on IndiGo for certain systemic deficiencies concerning documentation pertaining to operations, training, and engineering procedures.[62] Also, in March 2025, the Income Tax department imposed a penalty of ₹944.20 crore (US$110 million) on InterGlobe Aviation, IndiGo's parent company, for the assessment year 2021-22.[63]
The key trends for IndiGo are (as of the financial year ending 31 March):
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As of June 2025[update], IndiGo operates more than 2,200 daily flights to 127 destinations, 91 in India and 36 abroad.[12][79][80][10][11] Its main hub is at Delhi,[81] with additional bases at Bengaluru,[82] Chennai,[83] Hyderabad,[84] Kolkata,[83] Mumbai,[83] and Kochi.[85] In January 2011, IndiGo received a license to operate international flights after completing five years of operations.[86] IndiGo's first international service was launched between New Delhi and Dubai on 1 September 2011.[87][88] The airline announced that it will expand its international destinations to Bishkek and Siem Reap, among many others in southeastern and central Asia and eastern Africa, to increase its global presence. It is also requesting for slots in Amsterdam, London, Manchester, Paris and other European cities, as part of its expansion plan.[89][90]
Codeshare agreements
IndiGo codeshares with the following airlines:
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Fleet
As of March 2025[update], IndiGo operates a fleet of 437 aircraft.[102] It has a majority-Airbus fleet with aircraft ranging from turboprop regional aircraft ATR 72-600, to narrow-body aircraft Airbus A320, Airbus A320neo, Airbus A321neo, to wide-body aircraft consisting of two wet-leased Boeing 777s from Turkish Airlines.[103] IndiGo made a wet-lease agreement with Norse Atlantic for 6 Boeing 787s, with its inaugural flight on 1 March 2025.[104] It has also wet-leased Boeing 737 MAX from Qatar Airways and Corendon Airlines, as well as the Airbus A320 from Smartlynx Airlines and Freebird Airlines, to meet the rapidly-growing demand and traffic and to cope up with aircraft groundings due to supply-chain constraints.[105][106] Otherwise, its own upcoming wide-body type will consist of the Airbus A350-900 from 2027, with plans for more narrow-body aircraft orders to further expand its global outreach.[107][108]
IndiGo also has three Airbus A321 freighter variants as part of its dedicated subsidiary, IndiGo CarGo, for cargo operations.[109]
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Services
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IndiGo mainly offers economy class seating.[110] IndiGo provides nuts with meals or drinks in all of its flights.[111] While it has a buy-on board in-flight meal programme, no hot meals are available as, to minimise costs, IndiGo aircraft are not equipped with ovens.[112][failed verification] However, hot drinks, heated meals, and instant meals prepared with hot water like instant noodles, upma, poha, and sandwiches are available.[113][111] No in-flight entertainment is available; Hello 6E is IndiGo's in-flight magazine.[114] IndiGo offers multiple premium services, such as 6E Upgrade and Super 6E Fare, where the passengers can avail a pre-assigned seat, multiple cancellations, free snacks, priority check-in at a higher fare, and extra baggage allowance.[115] In September 2019, the company announced a tie-up with SonyLIV, an on-demand video app, to provide passengers with entertainment options aboard flights and at the airport.[116]
In 2024, they launched IndiGoStretch, business class seats.[117] Benefits include complimentary meals, advance seat selection, and zero convenience fee as standard.[52] Customers can avail more benefits by opting for the IndiGoStretch+ fare.[52]
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Incidents
- On 21 May 2025, an IndiGo flight 6E2142 from Delhi to Srinagar encountered severe turbulence when a sudden hailstorm struck it mid-air causing panic among those onboard. The pilot declared an emergency and landed the aircraft at the Srinagar International Airport without any reported injuries. The aircraft suffered visible damage to the nose due to hailstorm and was declared Aircraft On Ground for urgent repairs.[118][119]
- On 16 July 2025, An Indigo Flight 6E 6271, an Airbus A320neo family, from Delhi to Manohar International Airport in Goa, was diverted to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport due to a mid air engine failure. The pilot declared a "PAN PAN PAN" alert and performed an emergency landing at the Mumbai Airport at 9:52PM[120] [121]
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References
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