IndiGo Airlines (6E, Delhi International) chief executive Pieter Elbers has decried the imbalance in market access between India and Europe, arguing that Indian carriers face significant hurdles in securing airport slots compared to their European counterparts, who enjoy freer access to a wide range of Indian airports.

Speaking to The Hindu newspaper, Elbers asserted that Indian travellers are the primary drivers of demand in the India-Europe market. He argued that while European carriers can serve multiple points in India, the smaller size of many European markets makes it commercially viable for Indian airlines to serve only a single gateway, creating an inherent disparity.

“I am not saying they should be restricted, but Indian operators should have at least a fair and balanced playing field because India is the market,” Elbers stated.

According to ch-aviation data, eight Indian airports currently have direct services to Europe: Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bengaluru International, Chennai, Delhi International, Goa Mopa, Hyderabad International, and Mumbai International. For the week commencing October 20, Air India is the market leader with over 36,000 weekly seats, representing a 30% capacity share. It is followed by Lufthansa at 12.9% and IndiGo Airlines at 12.2%.

Slot constraints at major European hubs have forced Indian carriers to find creative solutions to expand. IndiGo Airlines reportedly secured five weekly slots for its Mumbai-Amsterdam Schiphol service by swapping them with its codeshare partner KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. Similarly, Air India increased its London Heathrow frequencies by leasing slots from MEA - Middle East Airlines, while IndiGo leased its Heathrow slots from Virgin Atlantic.

Elbers specifically criticised the practice of “grandfathering” historic slots at congested European airports. He argued it unfairly benefits legacy carriers, challenging the justification that “since Europeans have been flying for a long time, so they have all the slots,” and adding that it is “not the way it should work.”

From either of its hubs in Delhi and Mumbai, Indigo Airlines flies to Amsterdam Schiphol, Copenhagen Kastrup, Baku Heydar Aliev International, Istanbul Airport, Manchester, Tbilisi, and London Heathrow.