IndiGo is pressing pause on one of the most significant chapters in its international expansion. The airline has announced it will discontinue its Boeing 787-9 widebody operations from October 25, 2026, bringing an end to its damp lease partnership with Norse Atlantic Airways just over a year after the programme took flight.
The move means IndiGo’s services to London Heathrow will be suspended, while Mumbai-Amsterdam will continue to be served using the Airbus A321XLR. The damp lease agreement with Norse Atlantic Airways will formally conclude on October 31, 2026.
While the announcement marks the end of IndiGo’s first foray into long-haul widebody flying, the airline insists it remains fully committed to its long-term international ambitions and continues to prepare for the arrival of its Airbus A350-900 fleet.
IndiGo’s first 787-9 departure from Manchester
IndiGo cites rising costs and geopolitical challenges
The airline attributed its decision to what it described as a significantly more challenging operating environment than when the project was first conceived.
In its announcement, IndiGo said the operating environment had “changed considerably” since the programme was launched, with “significant escalation in costs.” It pointed to ongoing geopolitical tensions, airspace constraints, elevated fuel prices and currency pressures that have affected “route efficiency, schedule integrity, connectivity and overall competitiveness.” According to the airline, these developments prompted “a comprehensive review of the project and evaluation of possible alternative solutions.”
The timing isn’t entirely surprising. Indian airlines continue to face the operational consequences of Pakistan’s airspace remaining unavailable, forcing longer routings to Europe. The conflict across parts of the Middle East has added further uncertainty to flight planning, while elevated fuel prices and a stronger US Dollar have increased operating costs across the industry.
For an airline operating leased aircraft with relatively high ownership costs, these headwinds have made long-haul flying considerably more expensive than originally envisaged for two reasons:
- IndiGo was paying Norse Atlantic in USD/EUR, while earning mostly in Indian Rupees. Those currencies have appreciated against the Rupee, costing IndiGo more money. ACMI operations are higher cost compared to an operational lease
- Fuel costs were entirely on IndiGo, and prices have gone up massively.
This sort of confirms the story back from April 2026, when IndiGo had filed dates of operations closure for Manchester at the end of August 2026, and the rest of the operations as of October 2026 (end of Summer Schedule).
Another thing that might not have worked out for IndiGo is the transatlantic ambitions. The airline announced in May 2025 a partnership with Virgin Atlantic, KLM, Air France and Delta before the IATA AGM 2025. This never worked out in reality.
A learning exercise ahead of the Airbus A350
When IndiGo first partnered with Norse Atlantic Airways in early 2025, the arrangement was never intended to be permanent. Instead of waiting for deliveries of its Airbus A350-900 fleet, IndiGo leased six Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners under a damp lease arrangement, with Norse providing the aircraft, pilots, and maintenance while IndiGo supplied the cabin crew, marketed the flights under its own brand, and paid for the fuel.
The arrangement enabled IndiGo to launch flights to London Heathrow, Manchester, Amsterdam and Copenhagen while simultaneously building expertise in operating long-haul services. According to the airline, the programme was designed to “fast-track learning, develop capabilities, and establish brand presence in preparation for its Airbus A350 operations.”
During the programme, IndiGo says it developed critical competencies across long-haul network planning, customer experience, crew operations, maintenance, airport handling, revenue management and international partnerships. The leased Dreamliners were never simply about flying passengers to Europe—they were about preparing IndiGo for becoming a genuine global network carrier.
Management says long-haul ambitions remain unchanged
Abhijit Dasgupta, Senior Vice President, Planning and Revenue Management at IndiGo, emphasised that the decision should not be viewed as a retreat from long-haul aviation.
The global aviation industry continues to navigate ongoing geopolitical uncertainties, necessitating a prudent deployment of resources in the short term while preserving long-term strategic objectives.
Dasgupta added that the project “was never solely about serving specific routes but laying the foundation for our long-haul operations in future.”
He further said,
The invaluable operational learnings and strong customer response during this journey have strengthened our conviction in our long-term international strategy. As we enter the next phase of our growth, we remain firmly committed to expanding our global footprint across key mid and long-haul markets.
He also confirmed that IndiGo would continue strengthening its European presence using the Airbus A321XLR while maintaining momentum towards the launch of its own Airbus A350 operations.
What changes for passengers?
The most immediate casualty is London Heathrow. IndiGo will suspend all Heathrow operations from October 25, 2026, until its Airbus A350-900 aircraft begin entering service. Meanwhile, Mumbai-Amsterdam will continue to operate, albeit using the Airbus A321XLR instead of the Boeing 787-9. While the narrowbody aircraft offers considerably lower capacity than the Dreamliner, it also comes with substantially lower operating costs, making it better suited to the current market environment. The airline says it will work with affected customers to provide alternate travel arrangements or refunds wherever applicable.
Why this matters
The decision underscores just how difficult long-haul flying has become for Indian carriers over the past year. Unlike airlines based in Europe or the Gulf, Indian carriers continue to operate under significant airspace disadvantages because of restrictions over Pakistan. Flights to Europe are longer, consume more fuel and require additional crew resources, reducing aircraft utilisation and increasing operating costs.
Those economics become even harder when the airline does not yet own its aircraft and is instead paying premium lease rentals for a relatively small fleet.
Earlier this year, IndiGo had already signalled some stress in the programme when it announced it would suspend Manchester services and return one of its leased Dreamliners ahead of schedule, citing higher-than-expected operating costs. Copenhagen had also ended. The latest announcement effectively completes that strategic reset.
The decision also means Air India will once again become the only Indian airline operating widebody aircraft on scheduled international services until IndiGo’s Airbus A350 fleet begins arriving.
For Norse Atlantic Airways, the development represents the loss of one of its largest ACMI customers, with six Boeing 787-9 aircraft now requiring alternative deployment.
This is also an instance of Rahul Bhatia clearing up house before he hands over the baton to Willie Walsh next week, as a fresh start.
Bottomline
IndiGo’s decision to conclude its Boeing 787 damp lease programme may appear like a step back, but it is better viewed as a recalibration forced by circumstances rather than strategy.
The airline entered the Norse partnership to gain invaluable operational experience before its Airbus A350 deliveries, and by its own admission, that objective has been achieved. What has changed is the external environment. Airspace restrictions, geopolitical tensions, elevated fuel prices and currency pressures have fundamentally altered the economics of operating leased widebody aircraft.
The next phase of IndiGo’s international growth will now rely on its expanding Airbus A321XLR network, while the industry waits for the arrival of the airline’s Airbus A350-900 fleet. When those aircraft eventually enter service, IndiGo will return to long-haul flying with the operational experience, commercial knowledge and customer insights gained from its short-lived—but strategically important—Dreamliner experiment.
What do you make of IndiGo shutting down the 787-9 programme?
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Not sure how they got slots at London Heathrow on the first place….