Operation Sindoor’s success over the past few weeks has had an impact on social media that goes beyond the ongoing battle for public opinion. Social media was dominated by the Boycott Turkey movement, which was modelled after the Boycott Maldives. Similar tendencies have previously dominated social media in recent years. 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.
There were renewed calls for boycotting Turkey after it was revealed that Pakistan had utilised Turkish drones against India, that Turkey openly supported Pakistan, and that military jets flying between Turkey and Pakistan were suspected of carrying drones or military equipment. Among other nations, Pakistan has been purchasing military equipment from Turkey. It’s interesting to note that Turkey is a NATO member.
The airline’s inability to expand flights to India is frequently attributed to Turkey’s past backing of Pakistan, even though the boycott calls may be recent. This is because the bilateral air services agreement hasn’t been updated in a long time.
Since late 2018, Turkish Airlines and IndiGo, India’s biggest airline, have maintained a codeshare agreement. Turkish Airlines provided IndiGo with its first damp-leased widebody in May 2023. The airline also has a few damp-leased Turkish-registered planes that come in from Corendon Airlines to tide over the capacity shortage.
For an even longer period, TurkishAirlines and Air India, both StarAlliance members, have operated together, with flights offered for sale on Turkish Airlines’ website and through other channels. In the past, SpiceJet has used Turkish airlines’ services to run on damp lease during periods of low capacity.
Turkish Technic has partnerships with IndiGo and Air India. In accordance with an agreement encompassing nose-to-tail base maintenance operations, Air India’s B777 aircraft was recently in Turkey. Turkish Airlines and Air India Express inked an agreement in February of this year to handle the component support and solution requirements of 190 Boeing aircraft.
In the same month, IndiGo and Turkish Technic agreed to handle delivery checks for IndiGo’s more than ten Airbus A320neo aircraft. According to Turkish Technic, the two parties are currently in the early stages of negotiations for a new agreement that would include the overhaul of the landing gear on IndiGo’s fleet of A320neo aircraft. This came after a comparable redelivery check agreement was reached in October 2024.
In India, Celebi is a well-known brand in ground handling. Since its 2008 entry into India, the business has grown quickly. Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Kochi, Goa, Chennai, Kannur, Mumbai, and Delhi are all home to it. The organisation has managed high-profile events, such as the G20 in Delhi, where it assisted the VIPs with ground handling.
Social media demands for boycotts are not new. Similar calls were made against China during the 2020 Galwan conflict and against the Maldives following the contentious election campaign there, where the slogan “India Out” was one of the ones used. In 2024, just 130,805 Indians travelled to the Maldives, compared to 209,193 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.
More importantly, given that IndiGo and Air India have a combined market share of over 90%, passengers in India are unable to choose between the two airlines, and as a result, the airlines will not be negatively impacted financially by any such choices that people make. Commerce is ultimately what motivates businesses to make decisions, and it is obvious that domestic airlines won’t have to deal with it. IndiGo will undoubtedly keep an eye on upcoming reservations to determine how they will affect its two daily flights from India to Turkey. Flights are only cancelled if there is a commercial impact, as is the case in the Maldives. In this instance, will it be? We’ll find out in time.
