IndiGo's Mumbai-Copenhagen Route Marks New Chapter
Cristina GabrielaUpdated 3 min read
IndiGo announced in September 2025 that it would start flying between Mumbai and Copenhagen on 8 October 2025, its first route to Scandinavia. The service was to run three times a week with a Boeing 787-9 wet-leased from Norse Atlantic Airways, and the announcement came within a day of IndiGo revealing Athens as the first destination for its Airbus A321XLR.
The route and schedule
Copenhagen became IndiGo's 44th international destination and 138th destination overall. The published timings were built around a single aircraft rotation:
- 6E 41: Mumbai 04.35, arriving Copenhagen 10.05 local time
- 6E 42: Copenhagen 12.30, arriving Mumbai 00.30 the next day
The early-morning departure from Mumbai and midday turnaround in Copenhagen allowed onward connections into the Nordic region and Europe on the same day, while the late-night arrival in Mumbai fed IndiGo's domestic morning bank.
At the time, the only other nonstop link between India and Scandinavia was Air India's three-weekly Delhi to Copenhagen service. Passengers from Mumbai otherwise had to connect through the Gulf, Istanbul or a European hub such as Helsinki, Frankfurt or Amsterdam.
Why a leased Boeing 787
IndiGo built its business on Airbus A320-family narrowbodies and had no widebody aircraft of its own in 2025. To start long-haul flying before its own aircraft arrived, it agreed to wet-lease Boeing 787-9s from Norse Atlantic Airways, the Norwegian long-haul carrier. Under the arrangement Norse supplied the aircraft, pilots and maintenance, while IndiGo provided its own cabin crew and sold the seats under its 6E code.
Norse signed a letter of intent covering six 787-9s, with an estimated contract value of about USD 462 million over an extended term. The first aircraft arrived in March 2025 on an initial six-month term that could be extended to 18 months. IndiGo used the aircraft first on Mumbai to Manchester and Mumbai to Amsterdam, before adding Copenhagen and later London Heathrow.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Aircraft | Boeing 787-9, wet-leased from Norse Atlantic |
| Cabin | 56 IndiGoStretch (business) seats, 282 economy |
| Total seats | 338 |
| Frequency | Three flights a week each way |
| Start date | 8 October 2025 |
The lease was a bridge. IndiGo has Airbus A350-900s on order for delivery from 2027 and is the largest customer for the A321XLR, the long-range narrowbody it planned to use on thinner routes to southern Europe and Central Asia. The 787s let the airline build European sales, slots and operating experience before those aircraft arrive.
Athens and the A321XLR
The Copenhagen announcement followed IndiGo's statement that Athens would be the first destination for the A321XLR, with three weekly flights each from Mumbai and Delhi planned from early 2026. That would make IndiGo the only Indian airline with nonstop flights to Greece. The two announcements illustrated the airline's two-track approach to long-haul: leased widebodies on denser routes to northern Europe, and the XLR on routes where a 200-seat aircraft is the right size.
Competition from SAS
IndiGo's Copenhagen plan also set up competition with Scandinavian Airlines. In June 2025 SAS announced a five-weekly Copenhagen to Mumbai service with Airbus A330s from 2 June 2026, its first route to India since it left the market in 2009. SAS intended to use Copenhagen as a transfer hub, timing the flights to connect with its services to Scandinavia, Europe and North America, including New York, Boston and Toronto.
The difference in models was clear. SAS offered a full-service product with connections across its own network and the Star Alliance. IndiGo offered a point-to-point product, with its own codeshare partners providing some onward connections.
What has happened since
IndiGo launched the route as planned on 8 October 2025, but it did not last long. In early February 2026 the airline said it would suspend Copenhagen from 17 February 2026 and cut frequencies on Delhi to London Heathrow and Delhi to Manchester. It cited changing airspace restrictions linked to geopolitical events and congestion at airports in India and abroad, which had lengthened block times and stretched a schedule built around six 787-9s. IndiGo said the reshuffle had been planned for the summer 2026 schedule and was being brought forward.
The A321XLR plan went ahead. IndiGo took delivery of its first XLR, configured with 12 IndiGoStretch and 183 economy seats, at the end of 2025. It opened Mumbai to Athens in January 2026 and added Delhi to Athens on 24 January, each three times a week.
The SAS launch was disrupted. The inaugural flight SK969 left Copenhagen on 2 June 2026 but turned back over Azerbaijan because a required Indian approval had not been issued. SAS later said it had all clearances and restarted the route on 1 October 2026, with five weekly flights using a 266-seat A330. Mumbai therefore gained a nonstop Copenhagen link again, this time this time on a Scandinavian carrier, a year after IndiGo first opened the route.
