IndiGo’s Chief Executive Officer, Pieter Elbers, has resigned from his position, months after the operational crises that had hit the airline. He will be relieved of his duties with immediate effect on March 10, 2026.
“As per our conversation, due to personal reasons, I herewith submit my resignation from the position of CEO of IndiGo with effect from today. I would request that notice period may be waived off.” Elbers said in a letter to the board.
Rahul Bhatia takes charge
Rahul Bhatia, Managing Director of IndiGo will be taking charge as charge of the management until the Company announces the arrival of a new leader, which is expected in short order.
“Rahul returns to assume management of the affairs of the airline to strengthen the Company’s Culture, reinforce Operational Excellence and deepen its commitment to delivering exceptional service of care, reliability and professionalism to its customers”, said the Chairman of the Board, Vikram Singh Mehta.
“Having founded and nurtured IndiGo for twenty two years, I feel a deep sense of personal commitment and responsibility towards our nation, and towards the airline’s customers, employees, shareholders and all other stakeholders”, said Rahul Bhatia. “While placing Culture, Service Excellence and Stakeholder Trust at the forefront of its operations, IndiGo will continue to sharpen its strategic focus on serving India and her people with an airline that is professionally managed, operationally reliable and globally respected.”
IndiGo controversy
The IndiGo controversy in December 2025 is expected to be the primary driver of the CEO’s resignation.
Between December 2 and December 12, Indigo cancelled about 4,500 flights due to its failure to comply with the DGCA’s New Flight Duty Time rules, which increased pilot rest periods and capped night landings. As the company did not have enough pilots to fly the scheduled flights under the new safety laws, thousands of flights got cancelled.
The company was forced by the government to process refunds of over Rs 500 crore and was fined Rs 22 crore. In the aftermath, IndiGo’s Q3 FY26 net profit declined by 77 per cent.
Who is Rahul Bhatia
Rahul Bhatia is Group Managing Director at IndiGo’s parent company, InterGlobe Aviation. He founded the company in 1989 with a core business is air transport management. In 2005, he partnered with Rakesh Gangwal to start the low-cost airline Indigo, which went on to become the largest airline in the country.
According to the company records, Bhatia holds a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada.