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IndiGo, India’s third largest domestic airline will soon go international with flights to the Middle East and South East Asian destinations.

“We have applied for licence to operate flights to international destinations when we complete the mandatory five years of domestic operations in 240 days. We hope to launch the first flights before September next year,” said Aditya Ghosh, IndiGo’s president. “We’ll be offering the best services to the customers. We already have 300 pilots and 500 cabin crew with us and we’ll be hiring more for this.”

The airline that offers the lowest airfares in India has sought permission to fly 15 international destinations including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Doha, Muscat, Dammam, Singapore and Bangkok.

The airline also announced the lowest domestic airfare on the Kochi-Thiruva

nanthapuram sector starting from Rs1,500 all inclusive. The first flight will take off on January 2.

“Kerala is a key market for us and we will be setting up bases in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram before launching international operations. We will be offering the lowest rates in the Gulf sector too,” Ghosh told reporters yesterday. “We are currently operating with a fleet of 32 brand new Airbus320 aircraft and this will go up to 48 by the time we start flying abroad.”

It will now connect the Kerala capital to Delhi, Kochi, Chennai and Hyderabad, taking the total number of flights to 221 connecting 24 destinations across the nation. The all inclusive lowest one-way fares valid for booking made 14 days before travel date range from Rs1,500 to Rs4,281.

“With rising business and tourism stemming from the southern hubs, IndiGo is determined to provide the best travel experience to all those who wish to fly these destination. We are looking at providing affordable fares on these new routes,” he said.