IndiGo’s incoming chief executive officer (CEO) Willie Walsh has highlighted a major gap in long haul capacity of India’s aviation market. Walsh described India’s current fleet of 50 widebody jets as a “scandal,” reported BBC.
Widebody aircraft are designed to carry passengers over longer distances — making them crucial for international and long-haul routes.
‘When you think about it…’
Speaking about the Indian aviation sector, Walsh described it as “fascinating to watch in recent years” – highlighting strong growth and improving connectivity.
He, however, highlighted a shortage in wide body jets.
“When you think about it, it’s a country of 1.4 billion and counting. But they only had 50 widebody aircraft in the country last year. So that’s probably – you could describe it as a scandal,” BBC quoted as the CEO-designate as saying.
“They should be much bigger than that. And I think they will be much bigger than that going forward,” he said.
Earlier this year, aircraft leasing company Avolon said that it expects the shortage of wide body jets to last into 2030s, reported Reuters – citing the company’s annual outlook report.
Avolon’s report on wide body aircraft
Avolon is one of the three Irish leasing companies that together own and lease out about a sixth of the world’s passenger aircraft.
“We’re forecasting the narrow-body market to be undersupplied through the end of the decade, into the 2030s and perhaps a longer period of time for the wide-body market,” Avolon Chief Risk Officer Jim Morrison said as per a Reuters‘ report published in January 2026.
Alongside the shortage of widebody jets, Willie Walsh told the BBC that Indian airlines have a major opportunity to expand their global presence.
He noted that India has long relied on Gulf hubs for connecting passengers, especially on routes to North America, and said this presents a significant opening for domestic carriers to build more direct, long-haul networks and strengthen their footprint globally.
“India has depended on transferring people over the Gulf hubs, particularly into North America,” Walsh said. “So that’s a huge opportunity for Indian carriers to grow their presence on the global scale.”
Walsh is currently the director general of the International Air Transport Association.
He succeeds Pieter Elbers , citing personal reasons.
However, Elbers’ exit was reportedly being seen as widely linked to a recent operational crisis that led to thousands of flight cancellations—the biggest disruption in the airline’s 20-year history.