IndiGo Chief Executive Officer Pieter Elbers on Tuesday stepped down from his role, three months after a mass cancellation of the airline’s flights.
Elbers cited personal reasons in his resignation letter, a copy of which was shared by the airline in a stock exchange filing. He had served in the role since September 2022.
Managing Director Rahul Bhatia will take over interim duties of supervising the airline until a replacement is hired, the company said in a press statement.
Bhatia’s InterGlobe Enterprises has a 35.6% stake in the airline’s parent company, InterGlobe Aviation, making it the largest shareholder.
In an internal email to employees on Tuesday, Bhatia said that “what happened last December should never have taken place”, NDTV reported.
“I wish to place on record my indebtedness to all my colleagues who carried the company’s cross with grace and dignity and ploughed through sleepless nights to restore operational integrity,” the news outlet quoted him as saying.
Between December 3 and December 5, IndiGo cancelled more than 2,500 flights and delayed over 1,850 others, affecting more than three lakh passengers. The disruption, which continued for several days, pushed fares to unusually high rates on several routes.
The disruption came amid the rollout of stricter work hour norms introduced in November.
The revised rostering norms, issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation in January 2024 after concerns about pilot fatigue, were meant to take effect on June 1.
However, airlines asked for delayed implementation because of staffing shortages and operational challenges, and the key changes were eventually introduced on November 1.
The new rules required longer weekly rest, restricted night landings, extended the definition of night hours and limited consecutive night duties.
The crisis had led to interventions by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and the Ministry of Civil Aviation. IndiGo had apologised to its customers.
On February 4, the Competition Commission of India ordered an investigation into whether IndiGo abused its “dominant position” as the country’s largest carrier when it cancelled and delayed the flights in December.
IndiGo, which has about 65% of the domestic aviation market, “effectively withheld its service from the market, creating an artificial scarcity, limiting consumer access to air travel during peak demand”, the competition watchdog said.
Also read: IndiGo disruption reflects the crisis in India’s aviation sector
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