IndiGo suspends Manchester flights, cites unfavourable costs and operational challenges

IndiGo on Tuesday announced the temporary suspension of its flights to and from Manchester, United Kingdom, starting 31 August 2026, citing an “unfavourable cost and operational environment” as the reason.

Despite suspending its Manchester services, India's largest airline said in an exchange filing that it will continue to operate all its other long-haul international flights as scheduled.

Consequent to this decision, the airline also plans to return one of the six Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, taken on damp or wet lease, to Norse Atlantic Airways, according to the airline's official statement.

“Due to continuing international airspace constraints leading to significantly increased flight duration and a challenging cost environment, IndiGo is having to temporarily discontinue its flight operations to and from Manchester with effect from 31 August 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,” read the statement issued by the airline.

Why is IndiGo suspending Manchester flights?

According to the statement, IndiGo had damp-leased six Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners from Norse Atlantic Airways in early 2025 as part of its strategy to establish a foothold in the European market before commencing services with its own Airbus A350 aircraft. The move was aimed at strengthening the airline's long-haul international presence and building brand recognition across key European destinations.

However, the airline said that it has since experienced a significant impact of prevailing industry-wide challenges. These include geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, rising aviation turbine fuel (ATF) costs, severe airspace restrictions, and foreign exchange volatility. Together, these factors have pushed operating costs well above original estimates.

Commenting on the situation, Abhijit Dasgupta, Senior Vice President of Network Planning and Revenue Management at IndiGo, said, “We inducted these wide-body aircraft on a short-term basis to fast-track our connectivity to high-potential long-haul destinations such as Manchester, and witnessed very encouraging demand response. It is, therefore, unfortunate that longer flying times due to airspace constraints, coupled with dramatically escalating costs, compelled us to take the decision to temporarily discontinue our India – Manchester services."

"We would like to thank our customers, trade partners in India and in the UK, and Manchester Airport for their amazing support. The response and support for these services have reinforced our belief in the opportunity for IndiGo’s long-haul ambitions, and this discontinuation is temporary. We look forward to serving this route again at the earliest viable opportunity and are exploring innovative solutions to continuing our collaboration with Norse Atlantic Airways,” he added in the statement.