The chief executive officer of India’s largest airline, Pieter Elbers, resigned on Tuesday (March 10) with immediate effect for personal reasons, months after widespread flight cancellations disrupted travel for thousands of passengers and triggered regulatory scrutiny. In a statement, IndiGo said Elbers had stepped down from his role as CEO of its parent company, InterGlobe Aviation. The airline added that managing director Rahul Bhatia would oversee operations in the interim until a new chief executive is appointed.
Bhatia’s company, InterGlobe Enterprises, is the largest shareholder in InterGlobe Aviation, holding a 35.69 per cent stake as of December.
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The leadership change comes months after IndiGo faced major operational disruptions that resulted in thousands of cancelled flights. In the first weeks of December, the airline scrapped around 4,500 flights, leaving tens of thousands of passengers stranded and raising concerns about operational resilience in India’s rapidly expanding aviation sector.
The cancellations occurred as the airline struggled to adjust crew schedules to comply with stricter pilot fatigue regulations introduced by the government. The rules were aimed at improving safety by limiting the number of hours pilots can work, but the transition caused significant scheduling challenges for airlines.
IndiGo later apologised to customers for the disruption, acknowledging that it had failed to make the necessary roster adjustments in time to meet the new requirements.
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Elbers, a veteran aviation executive who previously led KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, had been a prominent figure in the industry during his tenure. Last year, he shared the stage with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a global airline summit held in New Delhi, where IndiGo served as the host airline for the annual gathering.

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