IndiGo to Launch Athens-Delhi Direct Flights

• IndiGo is launching direct flights from Delhi to Athens by March 2026.
• The Athens route is part of IndiGo’s plan to add 10 new international destinations.
• Other international expansions include London, Copenhagen, Manchester, and Amsterdam.
• Flights to London and Copenhagen rely on the arrival of leased Boeing 787s.
• IndiGo is adding a new plane to its fleet every week in fiscal 2026.
• The airline plans to exceed 600 aircraft by 2030.
• Aegean’s entry to the route also hangs on aircraft deliveries.

India’s favorite low-cost airline, IndiGo ( IATA designator 6E, ICAO designator IGO), has decided passengers deserve more options than endless tea and Bollywood reruns. So, Athens is now officially on the airline’s international bingo card. By the end of March 2026, IndiGo says it will run non-stop flights from Delhi straight to the Greek capital—a connection that, until now, required taking two naps and one meltdown at Istanbul airport.

IndiGo isn’t just eyeing Greece. The airline is in a full-blown international growth spurt, with plans to launch flights to 10 new overseas destinations. These include actual long-haul routes, such as London and Copenhagen, making it a wonder how many snacks they’ll serve before landing. In classic IndiGo style, the whole thing depends on when the airline gets its hands on new jets. Management is crossing fingers, toes, and probably prayer beads for the prompt arrival of more aircraft to avoid last-minute scrambles.

“Athens will join our international network by the end of March 2026, within our fiscal year,” IndiGo stated. Anyone counting down the months should remember: new planes mean new routes, and airlines wait for jet deliveries like kids wait for a new season of their favorite show.

At the same time, Aegean, Greece’s home team, is lining up its own Delhi-Athens service. However, their launch depends on the timely delivery of four new Airbus A321neo LR planes—a project CEO Eftichios Vassilakis noted could see an early finish “if things go well.”

IndiGo’s Appetite for Airports

Try to keep up: IndiGo’s CEO, Pieter Elbers, spoke ahead of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Annual Meeting in Delhi. He sounded optimistic if slightly sleep-deprived, about IndiGo’s global sprint. “We are focused on holistic growth so we can offer affordable, convenient, and punctual travel to our customers across an increasing network of domestic and international routes. We are also determined to keep our leading cost position, constantly improving our operational efficiency and profitability, thus ensuring strong returns for our shareholders’ trust, support, and investment,” said Elbers, possibly while juggling jet order forms.

How’s IndiGo supporting this sudden global ambition? The airline claims it will be bringing on a new plane every single week from late 2025 through 2026. By 2030, IndiGo predicts storming past the 600-aircraft mark. And because no expansion is complete without a leasing frenzy, IndiGo signed to take six more Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners from Norse Atlantic Airways, stretching their ability to go long-haul and avoid awkward layovers.

The financials look polished, too. Revenues jumped 18% in the fiscal year ending March 2025, hitting 841 billion INR (about €8.7 billion). Net profit landed at 72.6 billion INR (roughly €780 million), giving the airline a margin of 9%. Not too shabby for an airline still haunted by engine-shortage nightmares; only 40 planes are currently grounded, down from 70 earlier in 2024. For those fond of airline trivia, this means less time parked at gates and more time flying actual routes.

IndiGo is also tackling other regions. New routes will crisscross Central Asia, including resumed flights from Mumbai to Almaty and Tashkent after Pakistan re-opened its airspace. Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi, and Cambodia’s Siem Reap join the list, too, while capacity increases boost flights to Denpasar, Ho Chi Minh City, and Hanoi.

Meanwhile, domestic aviation is having a growth spurt as well. IndiGo is expanding from 91 to 95 Indian cities. They’re even setting up shop at two shiny new airports: Navi Mumbai and Noida in Jewar. Travelers not already tired from making sense of all these plans can also expect flights from Jalandhar and Ghaziabad.