NEW DELHI: Even as IndiGo stands firm in its resolve to continue its partnership with Turkish Airlines in the face of demands to sever the tie-up, an MP from Delhi has recently written to the Civil Aviation Minister to intervene and terminate the relationship.
BJP MP from Chandni Chowk, Praveen Khandelwal, has written to Ram Mohan Naidu calling for an urgent review of aviation partnerships with countries hostile to India in the ongoing confrontation with Pakistan.
The MP told The New Indian Express, “Due to the code-sharing agreement with Turkish Airlines, IndiGo is benefiting economically and otherwise. At a time when everyone is boycotting Turkey with even top educational institutes cancelling all agreements, it is necessary that this agreement with the airline be reviewed and terminated for a while. This should be at least until the ongoing tense situation normalises.”
TNIE has a copy of the letter Khandelwal sent to Naidu on May 14. It states, "Indian airlines, particularly IndiGo, currently maintain code-share agreements and strategic partnerships with Turkish Airlines. In light of Turkey’s vocal support to Pakistan, I urge the Ministry to advise Indian airlines to reassess and where necessary suspend such collaborations. Continuing these ties may be perceived as implicit endorsement of a regime that undermines India’s interests."
China too mentioned
Khandelwal also called for exercising utmost discretion and review of strategic relevance of ongoing passenger and cargo operations to and from Azerbaijan and China due to their public stance of aligning with Pakistan.
Asked if any decision has been taken in this connection, officials in the Civil Aviation Ministry refused comment.
IndiGo too did not want to comment on the recent development. However, it had issued a detailed release last week defending its partnership by stating that it operated a total of 56 flights per week between India and Turkey. "This arrangement provides multiple benefits to Indian travellers, and the country’s economy. The additional long-haul capacity has enabled availability of seats for Indian passengers at reasonable airfares, coming at a time when long-haul international airfares have increased substantially owing to the impact of COVID," it said.
The release added that it is also fuelling both aviation and economic growth by creating numerous job opportunities in India.
