Indian low-cost carrier IndiGo has inaugurated a new daily nonstop flight linking Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport with London Heathrow from 2 February 2026. The expansion marks the airline’s most ambitious long-haul move to date and follows its successful codeshare partnerships with British Airways and Qatar Airways.
The Delhi–Heathrow corridor is the busiest India–UK route for both corporate and Visiting-Friends-and-Relatives (VFR) traffic. Before the pandemic the pair of cities generated nearly 1.2 million two-way passengers annually, but capacity restraints and slot scarcity at Heathrow have kept fares elevated. IndiGo’s A321XLR service—configured with a premium economy cabin—adds 2,200 weekly seats and is expected to exert downward pressure on corporate travel budgets.
For UK multinationals with operations in India’s National Capital Region, the new flight offers the convenience of a late-evening Heathrow departure and an early-morning Delhi arrival, aligning with same-day onward domestic connections. The carrier’s aggressive pricing strategy—introductory return fares start around £580—could also influence negotiated fare programmes with established full-service competitors.
Organisations arranging these journeys can simplify visa procurement by using VisaHQ’s digital platform, which provides end-to-end processing for both UK and Indian travellers, real-time status tracking and dedicated account management—features that dovetail neatly with corporate duty-of-care requirements. Full details are available at https://www.visahq.com/united-kingdom/
Travel-management companies (TMCs) say interest is high among SME exporters and IT-outsourcing firms that require flexible, cost-efficient links to Delhi’s Gurugram tech corridor. However, policy teams should note that IndiGo is an unbundled carrier: checked-bag allowance, seat selection and lounge access come at extra cost, which may complicate duty-of-care and employee-satisfaction metrics.
From an immigration standpoint, the additional frequency increases appointment demand at UK Visa & Citizenship Application Centres (VCACs) in India and could shorten lead-times for urgent assignee movements. HR mobility teams should monitor available fare classes, ensure employees meet India’s OCI/visa requirements for return trips, and revisit per-diem calculations reflecting the new flight timing.
