IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers shares new message, says airline restored network of 2,200 flights

IndiGo chief executive Pieter Elbers on Thursday told employees that the airline has emerged stronger after a challenging period, saying “the worst is behind us” as operations stabilised and the carrier restored its network to 2,200 flights.

InterGlobe Aviation Ltd, IndiGo’s parent, saw its stock react positively to the remarks. Having opened flat at ₹4,980 apiece on the BSE, the stock climbed more than 2% during the session. At 1:36 pm, shares traded 2.92% higher at ₹5,126.50 per share.

In a video message to employees, Elbers said, “Through the storm, we found our wings again. IndiGo has restored a network of 2,200 flights. The airline’s focus now is on three things: resilience, root cause analysis, and rebuilding.”

Watch the video here:

IndiGo cancelled hundreds of flights across the country for several days beginning 2 December. The aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has since served notices to IndiGo chief executive Pieter Elbers and chief operating officer Porqueras, seeking their explanations.

"Dear IndiGo colleagues, through the storm, we are finding our wings again. The worst is behind us. These last two weeks have been very challenging for all of us," he said, thanking pilots, cabin crew, airport staff, operations control and customer service teams for their support.

Referring to the steps taken since 9 December, Elbers said the airline had stabilised operations and rapidly rebuilt capacity.

"After that, we restored our network to 2200 flights today. Given our scale and complexity, recovering from such a situation in a short time is a testament to our teamwork and the strength of our operating principles," he said.

Outlining the road ahead, Elbers said the airline would now focus on three priorities—resilience, root cause analysis and rebuilding. On resilience, he pointed to the onset of the IROP season and said the focus would be on keeping operations stable and minimising the impact of external factors on customers.

On the root cause analysis, Elbers cautioned against speculation and said a comprehensive review was underway.

"What we witnessed seems a compounding effect of several factors. Everyone wants answers. Speculations are circulating, but I encourage everyone, please stay calm, focus on your professional responsibilities and avoid engaging in such speculations," he said, adding that an external aviation expert appointed by the board would conduct a full-scale root cause analysis.

On rebuilding, Elbers said the leadership team would travel across the network to engage with employees and gather feedback.

"The leadership team, including myself, will travel across the network to meet you, understand the challenges you faced during this difficult time and seek your feedback. A combination of this root cause analysis and your input will help us building Indigo even stronger and even better," he said.

Urging staff not to let the recent days define the airline's legacy, Elbers recalled IndiGo's 19-year journey.

"In 2006, 19 years ago, we started from one aircraft... Today, we are 65,000 proud IndiGo colleagues and in these 19 years, over 850 million customers choose to fly with us," he said.

Concluding his message, Elbers said IndiGo would continue to serve the country with its core values of reliability, accessibility, discipline and customer focus.

“We continue to serve India with the same focus that built this very company. Reliability, accessibility, discipline and customer focus. Dear colleagues, thank you. Through the storm, we found our wings again. From here on, onwards and upwards,” he said.

In a related development, the Delhi High Court on Wednesday disposed of a fresh public interest litigation (PIL) filed against IndiGo over mass flight cancellations and passenger hardship, holding that the issues raised are already under consideration in an earlier pending writ petition before the court, news agency ANI reported.

Dictating the order, the Court observed that the issues highlighted in the PIL primarily relate to remedial measures required to address the situation that arose due to the cancellation of a large number of flights and the disruption of services by Respondent No. 3, IndiGo.

(With inputs from agencies)