Two of India’s leading carriers - Air India and IndiGo - are aggressively expanding their operations between India and the United Kingdom (UK). On Thursday, both airlines announced plans to increase the frequency of flights on the route amid strengthening trade and diplomatic ties between the two nations in the backdrop of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s first official visit to India.
Air travel between the two regions has consistently been strong, and connectivity is set to expand soon following the recently concluded India–UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). This agreement also provides an opportunity to increase their presence in the key European market, where overseas carriers hold approximately a 70% market share.
Air India said on Thursday that it would be expanding its services to the UK as part of its Northern Winter 2025 schedule, adding a fourth daily flight between Delhi and London (Heathrow), effective 26 October 2025. The additional flight increases Air India’s frequency from 24x weekly to 28x weekly this Winter, adding 1,196 seats each way per week between Delhi and London (Heathrow).
Air India is the largest carrier between India and the UK, operating 61x weekly and deploying 18,066 seats per week (in one direction), which translates to nearly 1.7 million seats annually on routes between the two countries. Air India connects five Indian cities (Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad and Amritsar) to three points in the UK, namely London (Heathrow), London (Gatwick), and Birmingham.
With the added daily frequency, Air India will operate two daily flights on the route with its Airbus A350-900 aircraft and two daily flights with its Boeing 787-9 aircraft. Air India said that the expanded operations include the optimisation of services on other UK routes, some of which were temporarily adjusted due to operational considerations.
IndiGo, on the other hand, will increase frequency of its flights from Mumbai and Delhi to Manchester. IndiGo’s service between Mumbai and Manchester marked the airline’s long-haul debut on 01 July 2025. Last week IndiGo had announced direct flights between Delhi and Manchester starting 15 November 2025 in addition to launching daily flights to London Heathrow from Mumbai, effective 26 October 2025.
IndiGo will enhance its Winter capacity to Manchester, with the Delhi - Manchester - Delhi service going from 4x to 5x weekly starting 15 November 2025, and the frequency on the Mumbai - Manchester - Mumbai route increasing from 3x to 4x weekly from 17 November 2025. This represents a further increase of 28% in non-stop capacity between India and Manchester. These routes are/will be operated using IndiGo’s Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft.
IndiGo said that UK-India corridor is a high-potential market, driven by strong economic ties between the two nations and an ever-expanding Indian diaspora in the UK. There is significant demand from the corporates, tourists, students and people visiting friends and family, added the airline.
Besides IndiGo and Air India, British Airways also has plans to start an additional flight connecting London and Delhi in 2026 with the free trade agreement set to boost economic activities. Currently, British Airways operates 56 weekly flights connecting London with five Indian cities.
