IndiGo, Air India, Akasa pledge to lease over 200 aircraft through GIFT City
Hey there! This news about airlines leasing planes in GIFT City might seem niche, but it's super important for your CLAT general knowledge. Basically, major Indian airlines like IndiGo and Air India are pledging to lease over 200 aircraft through their leasing arms in Gujarat’s GIFT City, a special economic zone. This triples the current number, making India a hub for aircraft leasing. This highlights India's push for financial self-reliance and infrastructure development. For CLAT, understand GIFT City and its regulator, IFSCA, as key components of India's economic policy and global financial ambitions. Remember the significance of domestic financing for infrastructure, often supported by institutions like NBFID, a topic relevant to economic governance. So for your CLAT prep, focus on these government initiatives and their impact.
Indian airlines commit to leasing over 200 aircraft, boosting aviation financing and expansion efforts.
Major Indian airlines including IndiGo, Air India, Akasa Air and Star Air have pledged to lease over 200 additional aircraft through their respective aircraft leasing arms in Gujarat’s GIFT City, a move that will almost triple the number of commercial aircraft currently leased through the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).
IndiGo’s leasing arm, InterGlobe Aviation Financial Services IFSC, said it plans to almost double its aircraft portfolio from 78 aircraft as of March 2026 to 150 aircraft by March 2027, with the additional aircraft estimated to be worth $3.5-$4 billion.
Similarly, Air India subsidiary AI Fleet Services said it aims to increase aircraft leased through GIFT IFSC from 16 aircraft to as many as 75 aircraft during FY27, involving assets worth around $2.5-$3 billion.
Akasa Air, which received approval on Thursday to set up Akasa Air Leasing IFSC Pvt Ltd, said it plans to lease 60 aircraft over the next five years through GIFT City structures.
Meanwhile, Star Air subsidiary Ghodawat Aviation IFSC Pvt Ltd plans to lease six-eight regional aircraft through the centre. These plans were outlined during the Aircraft Leasing and Financing Summit 2.0 held in GIFT City on Friday in the presence of Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, airline executives, aircraft lessors and bankers.
According to the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), a total of 101 commercial aircraft have so far been leased through GIFT IFSC, including 82 narrow-body aircraft, 14 wide-body aircraft, four ATR aircraft and one cargo aircraft.
Of these, 78 aircraft have been leased by IndiGo, 16 by Air India, while the remaining aircraft — five and two respectively — have been leased by Vman Aviation Services IFSC Pvt Ltd and Willis Lease Finance India IFSC Pvt Ltd.
“Aircraft leasing is a greenfield business. From a position of no leasing in 2020, today we have 40 aircraft lessors,” said K Rajaraman, chairperson of IFSCA. He added that GIFT IFSC now has 203 aircraft, including 101 commercial aircraft, and 84 aircraft engines leased through its ecosystem, taking the total aviation assets linked to the centre to more than 373 assets. International banking units operating in GIFT IFSC have also funded nearly $855 million in aviation debt, he said.
The aggressive leasing push comes as Indian airlines undertake one of the world’s largest fleet expansion programmes.
Indian carriers have together placed orders for 1,631 aircraft, including 1,245 Airbus aircraft and 386 Boeing aircraft.
IndiGo alone has ordered 901 aircraft, including A320 family jets and A350 wide-body aircraft, while the Air India Group has ordered 541 aircraft, including 168 Boeing 737 Max aircraft and 300 Airbus A320 family aircraft. Akasa Air has separately ordered 189 Boeing 737 Max aircraft.
At the summit, Civil Aviation Secretary Samir Kumar Sinha said the next phase of India’s aviation financing journey would require access to low-cost, long-tenure domestic capital as the sector transitions from leasing activity to large-scale aircraft ownership.
“As we move from leasing activity to large-scale ownership, access to long-term, low-cost capital becomes the next strategic priority,” Sinha said.
He noted that aircraft are long-life strategic assets with economic lives exceeding 20 years and financing tenures of 10-12 years, requiring patient institutional capital.
The Ministry is working to enable financing access from institutions such as National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development, National Investment and Infrastructure Fund, insurance companies, pension funds and infrastructure debt funds. “I believe this could become a transformational milestone in India’s aviation financing journey,” Sinha said.