IndiGo share price rises 2% as Pieter Elbers departs as CEO; Rahul Bhatia takes interim charge

The stock was up 1.91% to ₹4,464 apiece on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) at 9:25 am. Its market capitalisation stands at ₹1,72,085.31 crore.

In an exchange filing on March 10, the company stated that Elbers resigned due to personal reasons and his notice period was waived.

"It has been both an honour and privilege to serve as IndiGo's CEO these past years, since September 2022, and being a part of the great IndiGo family, it's 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," Elbers said in his resignation letter.

"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 the Chairman of the Board, Vikram Singh Mehta.

Having founded and nurtured IndiGo for twenty two years, Bhatia said that he feels a deep sense of personal commitment and responsibility towards the 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 added.

The resignation comes about three months after the airline reported operational disruptions on a major scale, affecting more than 3 lakh passengers at airports across the country.

In January, the civil aviation authority, DGCA, slapped penalties totalling ₹22.20 crore for the December fiasco and warned Elbers and two other senior officials for non-compliance. It had also directed the company to furnish a ₹50-crore bank guarantee to ensure long-term systemic corrections.