Pieter Elbers gave many firsts to IndiGo, including an operational meltdown

“Our mission is to build something that this country can be proud of, an airline which delivers on its promise. Always,” Pieter Elbers said when he took the stage in August 2024 to mark IndiGo’s 18th anniversary celebrations, where the airline also launched the IndiGo Business Class.

Elbers joined IndiGo in September 2022, about three months after the announcement of his appointment that followed the departure of Ronojoy Dutta, who steered the airline during the Covid-19 crisis. IndiGo came out much stronger than its peers. Elbers’ tenure lasted three years and six months, and included many firsts.

When Elbers took charge, IndiGo’s domestic market share was 58 per cent; it stands at 65 per cent today. His focus, though, had been international operations and premiumisation of the low-cost carrier. IndiGo placed its largest order for 500 aircraft at the Paris airshow in 2023. The deal involved more jets than an Air India order announced that February — it too was signed at the Paris Air Show, a day after IndiGo placed its order.

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When IndiGo turned 18 in August 2024, it announced premiumisation, foraying into the business class segment with the introduction of IndiGo Stretch. The airline aimed to have 45 aircraft by the end of 2025, covering most metro-to-metro routes in India. The plan underwent subsequent revisions, with international routes getting priority over domestic ones, but the airline managed to maintain its fleet target at a time when most airlines were struggling with supply chain constraints and delays.

In 2024, IndiGo announced its foray into the widebody segment with an order for 30 A350 aircraft, which was later doubled to 60. The announcement was made on the sidelines of The International Air Transport Association (IATA)’s Annual General Meeting in June 2025. Faced with the privatisation and massive fund infusion into Air India, IndiGo also moved to secure damp-leased Norse Atlantic 787-9 Dreamliners to bridge the gap and ensure smooth long-haul operations to Europe.

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When just about everything seemed alright, came the December operational meltdown. Lakhs of passengers were stuck across airports. Headlines of chaos, delays, anguish and anger eclipsed the visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to India. Passengers missed key meetings, funerals of loved ones, weddings, and exams. The meltdown not only impacted share prices but made the government take note of the scale and execution of IndiGo’s operations in domestic skies.

Penalties followed. So did roue cuts. Earlier, gaps left by other airlines in running certain routes over operational issues were promptly filled by IndiGo. But now it was the one facing the heat as delays and cancellations brought its capacity under the scanner.

“Ho jayega”— that was a phrase Elbers, who is from the Netherlands, used at many public functions. In the end, it didn’t happen the way he would have wanted. The aviation regulator’s safety regulations to manage crew fatigue and ensure flight safety exposed big gaps in IndiGo’s pilot rostering, which is believed to be the root cause of the December disruptions.

As Elbers and the IndiGo management held several meetings with the government amid the flight chaos, a photo showed Elbers with folded hands; it made the front page and spawned social media memes, becoming emblematic of a grim episode marked by air travel disruptions, government intervention and fines, and the boiling over of public anger.

IndiGo has been at the centre of storms a few times in the past as well. In 2019, it had to cut its schedule by 2 per cent due to crew issues, while a ground staffer had slapped a passenger at the Delhi airport in 2017 in what sparked a PR crisis. But none was as pervasive as the 2025 meltdown.

Rahul Bhatia, the co-founder and Group Managing Director of InterGlobe Aviation (the parent company of IndiGo), has taken interim charge following the departure of Elbers. He has signalled that failure will not be taken lightly. The direction IndiGo will take will be closely watched, especially in a volatile geopolitical environment that has a bearing on the economy and keeps throwing new challenges at the airline industry.