Pieter Elbers stepped down as CEO of IndiGo, three months after a major operational crisis that left hundreds of thousands of passengers stranded. The airline announced that its managing director, Rahul Bhatia, will take over in the interim until a permanent replacement is appointed.
Why did Pieter Elbers resign as IndiGo CEO?
IndiGo stated that Elbers resigned with immediate effect citing “personal reasons” His tenure had recently come under intense scrutiny following mass flight cancellations in December 2025, which disrupted travel plans for over 300,000 passengers.
Between December 3 and 5, IndiGo cancelled more than 2,500 flights and delayed nearly 1,900 others. The crisis arose as the airline struggled to implement new regulations aimed at preventing pilot fatigue, exposing weaknesses in operational planning.
The DGCA imposed a record fine of Rs 22.20 crore on IndiGo and issued show-cause notices directly to Elbers.
Developing story…
