IndiGo to suspend Manchester flights from Aug 31 amid rising costs, to return one leased Dreamliner

IndiGo said on Tuesday it will temporarily suspend flights to and from Manchester in the United Kingdom from August 31, citing increased flying times caused by international airspace restrictions and a challenging cost environment.

The carrier will also return one of the six Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft it had leased from Norway-based Norse Atlantic Airways as a result of the decision, the company said in a statement.

"Due to continuing international airspace constraints leading to significantly increased flight duration and a challenging cost environment, IndiGo is having to temporarily discontinue its flight operations to and from Manchester with effect from August 31, 2026," the airline said.

IndiGo said it would continue operating all of its other long-haul international services as planned.

The airline had leased six Boeing 787-9 aircraft from Norse Atlantic Airways in early 2025 as part of its strategy to establish a presence in the European market ahead of the induction of its own Airbus A350 aircraft.

However, the carrier said a combination of industry-wide challenges, including geopolitical developments in the Middle East, rising aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices, severe airspace constraints and foreign exchange volatility, had pushed operating costs significantly above initial expectations.

Abhijit Dasgupta, Senior Vice President-Network Planning and Revenue Management at IndiGo, said the airline had fast-tracked its entry into high-potential long-haul markets through the leased aircraft and “witnessed very encouraging demand response.”

"It is, therefore, unfortunate that longer flying times due to airspace constraints coupled with dramatically escalating costs compelled us to take the decision to temporarily discontinue our India – Manchester services," Dasgupta added.

The move comes as airlines worldwide continue to grapple with disruptions caused by geopolitical conflicts and airspace closures, particularly in parts of West Asia, which have forced carriers to take longer routes on several international sectors.

Air India has already suspended and reduced flights on several international routes through August 2026 due to continued airspace restrictions and record-high jet fuel prices.

The Tata Group-owned carrier has temporarily suspended its Delhi-Chicago and Delhi-Shanghai services, while reducing frequencies on routes to San Francisco, Toronto, Vancouver, Paris, Melbourne, Sydney, Singapore and Bangkok.

The airline has also suspended select routes such as Chennai-Singapore, Mumbai-Dhaka and Delhi-Malé through August.

In North America, Delhi-San Francisco flights have been reduced to seven per week from 10, while Delhi-Toronto services will be cut to five per week through July before returning to daily operations from August.

Delhi-Vancouver flights have been reduced to five a week from seven.

In Europe, Air India has cut frequencies on several routes, including Paris, Copenhagen, Milan, Vienna, Zurich and Rome.

In Asia and the SAARC region, the airline has reduced services to Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Kathmandu, Dhaka and Colombo.