New Delhi | IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers resigned on Tuesday, citing personal reasons, and the country's largest airline has relieved him with immediate effect, a development that comes three months after massive operational disruptions triggered widespread public outrage and regulatory actions.
Co-Founder and Managing Director Rahul Bhatia will manage the affairs of IndiGo on an interim basis till a new person is appointed, which the airline said is expected shortly.
The resignation of Elbers, who has been at the helm of IndiGo as CEO since September 6, 2022, has come abruptly, and while citing personal reasons for the decision, he had also requested the airline to waive the notice period.
"With immediate effect, Pieter Elbers will be stepping down as InterGlobe Aviation Limited's (IndiGo) CEO," InterGlobe Aviation said in a release on Tuesday and thanked him for his contribution and service, as well as wished him well in his future endeavours.
In his resignation letter, Elbers, a Dutch national, said it has been both an honour and a privilege to serve as the CEO for the past few years, since September 2022, and being a part of the great IndiGo family, “it’s a beautiful growth story and the steps we have made together in this”.
"If the company so desires, obviously, I will be available for any handover or transition otherwise. I would like to thank you personally, and IndiGo's Board, for the support extended to me," he said.
The resignation comes three months after the airline faced massive operational disruptions, especially between December 3 and 5 last year -- a period during which 2,507 flights were cancelled, and 1,852 flights were delayed, impacting over 3 lakh passengers at airports across the country.
In January, aviation watchdog DGCA slapped penalties totalling Rs 22.20 crore for the massive flight disruptions in December, and had warned Elbers and two other senior executives for non-compliance.
The regulator had also directed the airline to furnish a Rs 50-crore bank guarantee to ensure long-term systemic corrections.
According to the airline, Bhatia shall, in the interim, assume management of the affairs of the airline until such time that the Company announces the arrival of a new leader, which is expected in short order.
In the release on Tuesday, Bhatia said that 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".
"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," he said in the release.
New Delhi | On a warm afternoon on January 28, a confident Petrus Johannes Theodorus Elbers, better known as Pieter Elbers, explained the journey of IndiGo with his innate enthusiasm.
This was also his first in-person media interaction after flight disruptions in December last year.
Three days of disruptions cannot define the 20 years of IndiGo, a slightly agitated Elbers told media persons in response to repeated queries related to the flight cancellations, including about the duration of the cancellations, in December.
Little over 40 days after that interaction, Elbers, a Dutch national who enjoyed and shared pictures of his participation in local Indian festivals and wearing local attire, abruptly resigned from the airline as the Chief Executive Officer on Tuesday.
Before joining IndiGo on September 6, 2022, Elbers was the President & Chief Executive Officer of KLM for eight years. He was with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines for 30 years in various roles.
Under his stewardship, IndiGo significantly expanded its international operations, started operations with leased wide-body Boeing 787-9 aircraft, placed orders for 60 wide-body A350-900 planes and remained profitable.
Also, IndiGo, which currently has a domestic market share of 63.6 per cent, hosted the annual general meeting of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in the national capital in June last year. The meeting happened in India for the first time after 42 years.
While Elbers' stint as CEO was progressing well, the unprecedented operational disruptions at IndiGo, always proud of its On Time Performance (OTP), in December last year clouded the horizon.
More than 2,500 flight cancellations in just three days from December 3-5 left passengers in the lurch, rattled aviation authorities and pushed Elbers to repeatedly apologise for disruptions, which were mainly caused by a lack of planning in implementing the revised flight duty norms for pilots.
"We have let down our customers for three days," and the airline will use it to come back better, Elbers said on January 28 at the media interaction on the sidelines of the aviation summit Wings India 2026 in Hyderabad.
In his short resignation letter on Tuesday, Elbers cited personal reasons for his departure and mentioned that if the company so desires, obviously, I will be available for any handover or transition otherwise.
However, he has been relieved with immediate effect, and IndiGo Co-Founder and Managing Director Rahul Bhatia will manage the company's affairs on an interim basis.
Back in May 2025, when asked about the way forward for IndiGo, Elbers told PTI Videos, "picture abhi baaki hai".
With ambitious growth plans on the anvil, the airline will soon have a second CEO in less than four years to pilot the journey.
