IndiGo’s Head of Global Sales Vinay Malhotra on Monday (May 4, 2026) resigned to pursue opportunities outside the airline.

Mr. Malhotra will step down from his position and be relieved of his duties effective at the close of business hours on July 3, IndiGo said in a regulatory filing.

He is part of the leadership team at the country’s largest airline, which has seen top deck changes in recent times.

India’s new greenfield airport, Navi Mumbai (NMI), will be airlinked with Tamil Nadu from December 29, 2025, with Indigo beginning direct and daily flights from Chennai and Coimbatore.

An aviation source said the 186-seat all-economy class Airbus A320 services will be linked to the first phase of the airport’s operational hours, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. NMI is to have round-the-clock operations by February 2026.

India’s new greenfield airport, Navi Mumbai (NMI), will be airlinked with Tamil Nadu from December 29, 2025, with Indigo beginning direct and daily flights from Chennai and Coimbatore.

An aviation source said the 186-seat all-economy class Airbus A320 services will be linked to the first phase of the airport’s operational hours, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. NMI is to have round-the-clock operations by February 2026.

The source said that Mumbai is operationally challenging given the high volume of air traffic, and the new flights to NMI will offer the air passenger more choice. The airline has nine flights a day from Chennai, and three flights a day from Coimbatore to Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.

Mumbai is also a sector where Indigo competes with Air India and Indigo will be the first to begin direct flights to NMI from the State.

The Chennai operations, aimed at business traffic, will be flights 6E 898/899, departing Chennai at 6.10 a.m., with the return flight leaving NMI at 7.40 p.m. The Coimbatore flights will be 6E 860, departing NMI at 9 a.m. and arriving Coimbatore at 10.45 a.m., and 6E 861, departing Coimbatore at 11.15 a.m.

The DGCA on Saturday (December 6, 2025) served a show cause notice to IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers seeking an explanation within 24 hours on why enforcement action should not be initiated against him for the large scale flight operations that have seen hundreds of flight cancellations over the past week.

“Whereas such large-scale operational failures indicate significant lapses in planning , oversight, and resource management, and prima facie non compliance on part of the airline” with the rules governing pilot rest and duty norms, read the showcause notice. The Hindu has reviewed a copy of this showcause notice.

IndiGo flight cancellations update on December 6, 2025

The rules the airline failed to comply are 42A of the Aircraft Rules, 1937, and Civil Aviation Requirements which pertain to fatigue management of pilots.

“Whereas as the CEO you are responsible for ensuring effective management of the airlines but you have failed in your duty to ensure timely arrangements for conduct of reliable operations and the availability of requisite facilities to the passenger,” the notice adds.

The CEO has to respond to the showcause notice within 24 hours on why “appropriate enforcement action should not be initiated against you”, placing him under direct regulatory scrutiny.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday (December 5, 2025) cleared IndiGo’s plea for exemption from night-duty limits for pilots. This comes as the airline faces continued disruptions in its operations with large scale flight cancellations — over 400 on Friday — leaving many passengers stranded for as long as three days at airports.

The country’s largest airline, which generally operates around 2,300 domestic and international flights daily, is now cancelling flights as part of efforts to tackle disruptions, primarily triggered by crew woes.

 IndiGo’s on-time performance plummeted to 8.5% on Thursday, with worsening operational disruptions impacting flight schedules.

Top IndiGo officials had met Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu and Faiz Kidwai, head of the DGCA on Thursday and informed them that the widespread flight disruptions were due to “misjudgement and planning gaps” in implementing the set of norms governing rest and duty for pilots from November 1, primarily those on restricting night flying.

The airline accepted that the actual crew requirement exceeded the numbers they had anticipated.

Indian pilot duty rules, announced last year and which went into effect on November 1, increased the amount of mandatory rest per week for pilots by 12 hours to 48 hours. In addition, pilots are now only allowed to make two night-time landings per week, down from six under the old rules.

Friday’s exemption allows IndiGo to be exempt from the night-duty rule until February 10.

DGCA eases other flight duty norms for pilots 

DGCA also eased the flight duty norms by allowing substitution of leaves with a weekly rest period amid massive operational disruptions at IndiGo.

As per the revised Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms, “no leave shall be substituted for weekly rest”, which means that weekly rest period and leaves are to be treated separately. The clause was part of efforts to address fatigue issues among the pilots.

Citing IndiGo flight disruptions, sources told PTI that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has decided to withdraw the provision ‘no leave shall be substituted for weekly rest’ from the FDTL norms.

“In view of the ongoing operational disruptions and representations received from various airlines regarding the need to ensure continuity and stability of operations, it has been considered necessary to review the said provision,” DGCA said in a communication dated December 5.

(With inputs from PTI, Reuters)

IndiGo has approved a capital investment of ₹7,294 crore to enable ownership of their aircraft instead of their leasing.

The airline said in a statement that it has “approved a capital investment of $820 million (nearly ₹7,294 crore) in its wholly owned subsidiary, InterGlobe Aviation Financial Services IFSC Private Limited. The funds raised by IndiGo IFSC shall be primarily deployed towards acquisition of aviation assets, thereby enabling ownership of aircraft.”

“IndiGo has historically maintained a fleet structure predominantly reliant on operating leases. In recent years, the organization has undertaken a strategic development towards a more balanced ownership structure and diversified forms of financing. This move reflects IndiGo’s commitment to prudent capital allocation and sustainable value creation for all stakeholders,” the airline further said.

The move is expected to shield the airline from foreign exchange fluctuations, as lease payments are typically dollar-denominated.

The airline’s Chief Finance Officer recently said that the airline plans to make increase ownership of aircraft to 30-40% of its aircraft by 2030.

The airline currently has nearly 430 aircraft in its fleet. It has been adding an aircraft a week for the past many years and will soon start taking deliveries of A321 XLRs and its first widebodies in A350s from 2027.