Who is Rahul Bhatia? IndiGo co-founder takes interim charge after CEO Pieter Elbers resigns with immediate effect

India's largest airline, IndiGo, on Tuesday said its managing director Rahul Bhatia will serve as interim CEO until a replacement is appointed. 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 that the Board of Directors thanked Pieter Elbers for his contribution and service to the organisation and wished him well in his future endeavours.

Who is Rahul Bhatia?

Rahul Bhatia, 66, is the Group Managing Director of InterGlobe Enterprises. He shall, in the interim, assume management of the affairs of the airline until such time that the Company announces the arrival of a new leader, which is expected in short order, the airline said.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, according to IndiGo's website.

Bhatia founded InterGlobe in 1989, initially focusing on air transport management. With more than three decades of experience in the travel industry, he has led the company’s expansion into multiple sectors, including aviation, hospitality, logistics, technology, airline management, advanced pilot training and aircraft maintenance engineering.

He received the “Outstanding Start-Up” award at the Forbes India Leadership Awards in 2011. Later, in 2016, he was included in Forbes’ list of “Global Game Changers.”

Bhatia co-founded the airline with an Indian-American billionaire businessman, Rakesh Gangwal, and their partnership was instrumental in transforming IndiGo into a leading force in India’s aviation industry. However, the relationship between the two founders later soured after a public dispute in 2019 over corporate governance issues. Gangwal resigned from the company’s board in 2022 and has since been steadily reducing his stake in the airline.

Rahul Bhatia's net worth

Rahul Bhatia has an estimated net worth of $6.5 billion as of March 2026, according to Forbes. He is ranked 557th on the global billionaire list.

IndiGo's operational chaos in December

Mass flight cancellations toward the end of last year led to a sharp drop in the budget airline’s quarterly profit, triggering widespread public outrage and prompting stricter regulatory scrutiny of IndiGo. The airline was criticised for failing to adequately prepare for new pilot rest regulations, resulting in significant operational disruptions. At the time, the Indian government warned that strict action could be taken against the carrier.

India’s aviation regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), also issued a show-cause notice to Pieter Elbers, citing “significant lapses” in planning and stating that he had failed to ensure dependable operations. IndiGo was later fined, while Elbers received a formal warning from the regulator in January.