India-Pakistan Tensions: ixigo Suspends Flight & Hotel Bookings To Turkey, China

SUMMARY

ixigo has suspended flight and hotel bookings to Turkey, China and Azerbaijan

These countries expressed solidarity with Pakistan following India’s military strikes on terror camps across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir

EaseMyTrip cofounder Nishant Pitti also highlighted in an X post how India has become an emerging market for tourism in Turkey and Azerbaijan and urged Indians visiting these countries to rethink if they should spend their money there

Online travel aggregator Ixigo has suspended flight and hotel bookings to Turkey, China and Azerbaijan after they expressed solidarity with Pakistan following India’s military strikes on terror camps in the neighbouring country.

Aloke Bajpai, chairman, managing director and Group CEO of ixigo, took to X today to announce the retaliatory measure.

“Enough is Enough! Blood and Bookings wont flow together. We are suspending all flight and hotel bookings for Turkey, China and Azerbaijan on ixigo,” his post read.

This comes in the wake of aggravating military confrontation between India and Pakistan. Earlier this week, India launched ‘Operation Sindoor’ against Pakistan in direct retaliation to the April 22 Pahalgam attack, which resulted in the death of 26 Indian civilians.

It is to be noted that a preliminary investigation by Indian armed forces revealed that Pakistan allegedly used 300-400 Turkish Songar drones to attack military and civilian infrastructure across 36 locations in India this week.

Moreover, following Operation Sindoor, Turkey, China and Azerbaijan came out in open support of Pakistan, going so far as to condemn New Delhi’s military strikes in terror camps across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir.

Their solidarity with Pakistan drew the ire of Indian social media users, with many calling for a boycott of the three nations.

“Not surprised…Turkey – Pakistan, two sides of the same coin,” said one X user. Another wrote, “Don’t mess with India,” adding, “Pls remember what Indian Tourists did to the Maldives. No country dependent on tourism can afford to get on India’s wrong side. All it takes is one boycott trend….”

India is an emerging market for tourism growth in Turkey and Azerbaijan. In a separate X post today, EaseMyTrip cofounder and promoter Nishant Pitti also highlighted India’s contribution to the economy of these countries.

Pitti said that 2.87 Lakh and 2.43 Lakh Indians visited Turkey and Azerbaijan last year, respectively. Tourism accounts for 12% of Turkey’s GDP and makes up 7.6% of Azerbaijan’s GDP, according to him.

“When these nations openly support Pakistan, should we fuel their tourism and their economies? Every rupee we spend abroad is a vote. Let’s spend it where our values are respected,” Pitti added.