India’s largest airline IndiGo said on Tuesday that its chief executive Rahul Bhatia will serve as interim CEO until a replacement is named. The development comes after CEO Pieter Elbers resigned with immediate effect, three months after the airline witnessed massive operational chaos that left many passengers stranded.
The airline said the board thanked Pieter Elbers for his contribution and service to the organization and wished him well in his future endeavours.
Who is Rahul Bhatia?
Rahul Bhatia, 66, is the Group CEO of InterGlobe Enterprises. In the meantime, he will take charge of the airline’s affairs until the company announces the arrival of a new leader, which is expected shortly, the airline said.
He received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, according to the IndiGo website.
Bhatia founded InterGlobe in 1989, initially focusing on air traffic management. With more than three decades of experience in the travel industry, he has led the company’s expansion into many industries, including aviation, hospitality, logistics, technology, airline management, advanced pilot training and aircraft maintenance engineering.
In 2011, he received the “Outstanding Start-Up” award at the Forbes India Leadership Awards. Later, in 2016, he was listed as a Forbes “Global Game Changer”.
Bhatia co-founded the airline with Indian-American billionaire businessman Rakesh Gangwal, and their partnership was instrumental in transforming IndiGo into a leading force in the Indian aviation industry. However, the relationship between the two founders later soured following a public dispute in 2019 over corporate governance issues. Gangwal stepped down from the company’s board in 2022 and has been steadily reducing his stake in the airline since then.
Rahul Bhatia Net Worth
Rahul Bhatia has an estimated net worth of $6.5 billion as of March 2026, according to Forbes. He is on 557th place in the global ranking of billionaires.
IndiGo’s operational chaos in December
Mass cancellations towards the end of last year led to a sharp drop in the low-cost airline’s quarterly profit, sparking widespread public outrage and prompting tighter regulatory scrutiny of IndiGo. The airline has been criticized for not adequately preparing for the new pilot rest regulations, leading to significant operational disruptions. At the time, the Indian government warned that strict action could be taken against the carrier.
India’s aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), also issued a notice to Pieter Elbers citing “significant errors” in planning and saying he had failed to ensure reliable operations. IndiGo was later fined, while Elbers received a formal warning from the regulator in January.
