IndiGo launched long-haul Boeing 787-9 operations in July 2025, initially intending to launch from Delhi but moving to Mumbai at the last minute. Subsequently, the airline launched ops from Delhi as well; however, the unavailability of Pakistan Airspace is causing some strain, prompting the airline to rethink.
IndiGo’s Boeing 787-9 Operations so far.
IndiGo currently operates a four-times-weekly service between Mumbai and Manchester, which was its first flight launched with the Norse Atlantic 787-9. You can read our first impressions of the flight here. From there, it launched the Mumbai-Amsterdam service, which is now daily. IndiGo also operated a thrice-weekly long-haul route from Mumbai to Copenhagen. IndiGo has also launched a daily Mumbai-London Heathrow service. Lastly, IndiGo launched flights between Delhi and Manchester in November 2025, operating four times a week. And from there, IndiGo launched a Delhi-London Heathrow service in February 2026 (on the first day of the month).
IndiGo to rejig operations of the 787-9 Wet Lease Fleet
IndiGo has announced adjustments and schedule revisions to its long-haul network. IndiGo says the widebody operation has faced external operational constraints, including continuously changing airspace restrictions due to geopolitical circumstances and airport congestion in India and abroad. These factors significantly increased flight and block times, straining the airline’s 787-9 schedule, which is operated with six wide-body aircraft. To avoid inconveniencing customers due to misconnections and cascading delays, IndiGo has decided to take immediate measures to restore operational reliability, including on-time performance, in its widebody operations.
Based on a review of all the above factors, starting February 17, 2026, IndiGo suspended its operations to and from Copenhagen until further notice. And from February 7, 2026, IndiGo reduced its Delhi – Manchester services from 5 flights per week to 4, and further reduced to 3 from February 19, 2026; thus reducing its total connectivity to/from Manchester from 9 weekly to 7 weekly services. This scale adjustment was originally planned for the Summer Schedule 2026; however, it was being implemented earlier to ensure reliability across the rest of IndiGo’s long-haul operations.
With effect from February 9, 2026, IndiGo’s Delhi–London Heathrow services were also reduced from 5x weekly to 4x weekly. The airline launched these flights on February 1, 2026.
In all of this, IndiGo has freed up one aircraft with six-times-a-week capacity to launch a new route to a new destination.
IndiGo is closing flights to Manchester effective August 31, 2026
Due to ongoing international airspace constraints that have significantly increased flight durations and a challenging cost environment, IndiGo is temporarily discontinuing its flights to and from Manchester, effective August 31, 2026. Consequent to this decision, the airline plans to return one of the six Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, taken on a damp /wet lease, to Norse Atlantic Airways. IndiGo will continue to operate all its remaining long-haul flights as planned. The airline had hinted that the 787-9 operations would be curtailed last week during the analyst call after the latest set of results.
Bottomline
IndiGo is experiencing issues with Pakistani and Iranian airspace, so it is nixing flights to Manchester now, and London Heathrow and Amsterdam will continue to operate for the time being. The airline had also cut the Copenhagen route altogether, which, to me, seems more like a commercial decision than one driven by airspace unavailability. Additionally, one of the six 787-9 aircraft will be returned to Norse Atlantic Airways.
What do you make of IndiGo’s reorganisation of its 787-9 network?
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