Pieter Elbers steps down as IndiGo CEO; Rahul Bhatia takes interim charge
Rahul Bhatia will manage IndiGo’s affairs temporarily as the airline begins the process of appointing a new leader.
InterGlobe Aviation(IndiGo) has announced that Pieter Elbers will step down as the airline’s Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect.
The Board of Directors thanked Elbers for his contribution and service to the organisation and wished him well in his future endeavours.
Rahul Bhatia, Managing Director of IndiGo, will in the interim assume management of the affairs of the airline until the company announces the appointment of a new leader, which is expected shortly.
“Rahul returns to assume management of the affairs of the airline to strengthen the company’s culture, reinforce operational excellence and deepen its commitment to delivering exceptional service of care, reliability and professionalism to its customers,” said Vikram Singh Mehta, Chairman of the Board.
Bhatia said that having founded and nurtured IndiGo for twenty-two years, he feels a deep sense of personal commitment and responsibility towards the nation and towards the airline’s customers, employees, shareholders and other stakeholders.
He added that 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 its people with an airline that is professionally managed, operationally reliable and globally respected.
This leadership transition also comes in the wake of the significant operational disruption IndiGo faced in December 2025, when widespread crew shortages and cascading network delays affected passengers and cargo movements.
Recently, IndiGo’s six Boeing 787-9 aircraft, leased from Norway's Norse Atlantic Airways and used for long-haul flights, were grounded due to airspace restrictions linked to the ongoing conflict in West Asia. In one incident, flight 6E033 from Delhi to Manchester was forced to return to Delhi after encountering last-minute overflight clearance issues near Eritrean airspace on March 9, 2026. The flight operated its Europe-bound service on a longer route via Africa after the aviation regulator European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) advised aircraft registered under European authorities to avoid certain Middle Eastern airspaces.