Turkey, facing backlash over Pakistan support, has deep ties with Indian aviation
IndiGo, the largest airline in India, has had a codeshare arrangement with Turkish Airlines since late 2018.
Over the last few weeks, the success of Operation Sindoor saw a fallout on social media, which was beyond the war of perception which was being fought. The trend to boycott Turkey, on the lines of Boycott Maldives, took over social media. This is not the first time that such trends have taken over social media in recent history. In response, Cox & Kings and Ixigo decided to suspend bookings to Turkey (along with a few other countries) from their platform. As lists of brands which are Turkish and available in India started doing rounds on social media and WhatsApp, the partnership of IndiGo and Turkish Airlines also became the centre of discussion.
As reports of Turkish drones used by Pakistan against India, open support by Turkey to Pakistan and the flight path of military planes flying between Turkey and Pakistan, speculated to carry military equipment or drones, became public, there were renewed calls for boycotting Turkey. Turkey has been selling military hardware to Pakistan, among other countries. Interestingly, Turkey is a member of NATO.
While the boycott calls may be new, Turkey has a history of supporting Pakistan, and this is often cited as a reason for the airline not being able to add flights to India, as the bilateral air services agreement has not been revised for a while.
Flying Partnerships
IndiGo, the largest airline in India, has had a codeshare arrangement with Turkish Airlines since late 2018. In May 2023, IndiGo inducted the first damp-leased widebody from Turkish Airlines. The airline also has a few damp-leased Turkish-registered planes that come in from Corendon Airlines to tide over the capacity shortage.
Air India, a Star Alliance member like Turkish Airlines, has had an interline with Turkish Airlines for an even longer time, with flights available for sale on Turkish Airlines' website and other channels. SpiceJet has in the past utilised the services of airlines from Turkey to operate on damp lease in times of capacity shortages.
Technical partnerships
Turkish Technic has tie-ups with both Air India and IndiGo. Recently, Air India’s B777 aircraft was in Turkey as part of an agreement covering nose-to-tail base maintenance operations. In February this year, Turkish Airlines signed a deal with Air India Express covering the component support and solution needs of 190 Boeing aircraft.
The same month, Turkish Technic and IndiGo signed an agreement to cover the delivery checks of IndiGo’s 10+ Airbus A320neo aircraft. Turkish Technic had then mentioned that the two entities are in advanced stages of discussions for another agreement covering the Landing Gear Overhaul of IndiGo’s A320neo fleet. This was following a similar agreement in October 2024 for redelivery checks.
Ground handling
Celebi is a large name in ground handling in India. The company entered India in 2008 and has since expanded rapidly. It is present in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Kochi, Goa, Chennai, and Kannur. The agency has handled high-profile events like the G20 in Delhi, where it provided ground handling services for the VIPS.
Boycott calls - a hit and miss
The boycott calls on social media are not new. There were similar calls against China, post Galwan clash in 2020 and with Maldives after the heated election campaign in Maldives, with one of the slogans used being “India Out”. Only 130,805 Indians visited Maldives in 2024, as compared to 209,193 Indians in 2023. This followed the “Boycott Maldives” trend on social media in early 2024 and Prime Minister Modi's visit to Lakshadweep in January 2024. This is a drop of 37%, which also shows in terms of air traffic and flight capacity between India and the Maldives.
Indian government’s Department of Commerce data shows that in 2024, India exported $ 15,141.01 million of goods and services to China, while India imported $ 109,359.28 million worth from China. The numbers stood at $ 17,122.02 million of exports and $ 68,350 million of imports in 2019, the last full year pre-COVID and pre-Galwan clashes, indicating that.
India’s total imports have increased from $ 485,949.14 million in 2019 to $ 718,163.07 million in 2024, a growth of nearly 1.5 times. Its imports from China have surged 1.6 times during the same period, showing that the growth has been in line with overall trade.
Tail Note
What is more important to note is that with a market share of over 90% as IndiGo and Air India group combine, a passenger in India cannot avoid the two airlines and thus the airlines will not be commercially impacted for any such decisions that individuals may take. In the end, what drives companies to make decisions is commerce, and it seems amply clear that the airlines will not have to face it in domestic skies. IndiGo would definitely be monitoring the future bookings to see the impact on its two flights a day to Turkey from India. Like in the case of the Maldives, flights are pulled out only if there is a commercial impact. Will it be in this case? Time will tell.