Indian airline IndiGo announced on Sunday that it has placed an order for 30 additional Airbus A350-900 aircraft, bringing its total order book with the European aircraft manufacturer to 60.
"We have placed a firm order for 30 Airbus A350-900 aircraft," said IndiGo CEO Peter Elbers.
Founded in 2006, IndiGo is already behind the largest order in civil aviation history, ordering 500 Airbus single-aisle aircraft by 2023.
The Indian low-cost carrier, the country's largest by market share, is consolidating its position as a major player in the long-haul market.
"This strategic move will enable IndiGo to further expand its international long-haul network," the company said in a statement.
"This is another step towards defining the airline's long-term plans for international expansion."
The A350, with a range of 15,000 kilometers, will allow the company to further expand its network.
IndiGo has ordered around 1,000 A320 aircraft, Airbus's most successful model and a competitor to Boeing's 737 MAX, which has suffered setbacks following a series of safety incidents.
Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), who began his annual industry conference in New Delhi on Sunday, said, "The development of air connectivity in India in recent years has been nothing short of spectacular."
Walsh stated that the Indian aviation sector is growing at "more than 10 percent" annually.
Economic growth has made India, with a population of 1.4 billion, the fourth-largest domestic and international aviation market, and IATA predicts it will become the third-largest within a decade.
The Indian Ministry of Civil Aviation stated that domestic air passenger traffic reached "a historic milestone of more than 500,000 passengers in a single day."
The ministry reports that the sector is "experiencing meteoric rise."
Train travel remains popular in India, but travel by rail in a country roughly one-third the size of the European Union is often slow and chaotic.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will address IATA representatives on Monday, has made developing the aviation sector a priority since coming to power in 2014.
India has doubled the number of its airports over the past decade to 157 and plans to reach 400 by 2047.

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