In line with its continued focus on growing its overseas network and expanding its footprint in Europe, India’s largest airline IndiGo plans to launch direct flights to Athens in Greece in January and will be using its first Airbus A321XLR aircraft for these flights, the carrier announced Monday. IndiGo expects to take delivery of its first A321XLR—the extra-long-range variant of the Airbus’s popular narrow-body jet A321—by the end of the year, after which it plans to operate thrice-weekly Delhi-Athens and Mumbai-Athens services from early January. Given that the airline is using damp-leased wide-body aircraft to operate flights to other points in Europe, Athens is slated to be the first European destination that IndiGo will fly to using its own aircraft.
“The airline is all set to bring home India’s first A321XLR by the end of 2025 and begin six weekly direct flights to Athens by early January 2026, subject to regulatory approval. This milestone will make IndiGo the only Indian carrier to offer direct flights between India and Greece,” IndiGo said. Notably, Greek carrier Aegean Airlines also plans to launch direct flights between Athens and Delhi from March, and Athens and Mumbai from May. Aegean Airlines, too, will also use the A321XLR for its India flights.
The A321XLR is a next-generation narrow-body aircraft designed for longer ranges, allowing IndiGo to expand deeper into Europe while maintaining the cost-efficiency of a single-aisle fleet. With a range of up to 8,700 km, the A321XLR opens access to destinations previously beyond reach of narrow-body operations, enabling non-stop flights from India to Southern Europe with greater efficiency, IndiGo said. According to Airbus, the A321XLR can operate non-stop flights of up to 11 hours, which is not possible for any other narrow-body, or single-aisle, commercial airliner.
After dominating the Indian skies with a market share of over 60 per cent, IndiGo has been focusing on its “internationalisation” strategy, which entails a rapid expansion of its international network—including its foray into the long-haul segment with flights to Europe—given the robust overseas travel demand from India. Over the past two to three years, IndiGo has expanded its international network by adding destinations in regions including Central Asia and the Caucasus, Southeast Asia, and Africa using its narrow-body fleet. IndiGo recently forayed into Europe, where Air India was the only Indian carrier operating flights, with services to Amsterdam and Manchester using damp-leased Boeing 787 aircraft.
IndiGo sees significant potential in the international segment, given that Indian airlines account for 45 per cent of India’s international air passenger traffic, while overseas carriers account for around 55 per cent. In the case of India-Europe passenger traffic, overseas carriers have an even higher share of around 70 per cent. On May 30, the airline announced plans to launch flights to a total of 10 new overseas destinations in the financial year 2025-26, of which five are in Europe and the UK, growing its international network by a fourth to 51 destinations. Apart from Manchester and Amsterdam, IndiGo had said that it intended to start flights to London, Copenhagen, Athens, Siem Reap, and four Central Asian destinations.
The launch of Athens as IndiGo’s first A321XLR destination comes at a time when the India-Europe aviation market is growing, driven by both business and leisure demand. Greece, as a tourism and trade hub, offers a strong complement to India’s expanding outbound market. India has become one of the fastest-growing source markets for Europe, and direct services to Athens will further enhance people-to-people and economic exchanges between the two nations, the airline said.
“Athens as the inaugural destination for IndiGo’s, and India’s, first Airbus A321XLR is a symbolic milestone of India’s aviation ascent. IndiGo is proud to be the only Indian airline, currently, to announce direct flights between India and Greece—two ancient civilizations with a history of long-standing relationship, now deepened by modern-day bilateral and economic ties. This new aviation corridor is a strategic step in IndiGo’s international expansion and aligns perfectly with India’s growing economy and tourism industry,” IndiGo’s Chief Executive Officer Pieter Elbers said, adding that the airline will explore connecting to more points in Greece.
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IndiGo has also made adjustments to its product offering for long-haul operations. On its flights to and from Europe and the UK, the carrier offers complimentary hot meals to all flyers, which is a departure from its model of paid meals. It is also offering its business class product on its long-haul routes, which will be available on board the flights to Athens as well.
As part of its internationalisation strategy, IndiGo will induct the A321XLR aircraft and wide-body Airbus A350 planes to operate long-range international flights. But the carrier evidently did not want to wait for these aircraft to further fuel its international expansion, and therefore decided to enter the long-haul market using damp-leased wide-body planes earlier this year.
