IndiGo Profit Plunges 75% After Mass Flight Cancellations Trigger Heavy Losses

India’s largest airline IndiGo reported a sharp 75% decline in quarterly profit on Thursday, hurt by widespread flight cancellations in December that resulted in a 5.77 billion rupee ($63 million) financial hit. The disruption marked one of the country’s worst aviation crises, as thousands of flights were scrapped, stranding passengers and causing severe congestion at major airports.

IndiGo, which controls nearly two-thirds of India’s aviation market, has since come under regulatory and competitive scrutiny. The airline attributed the cancellations to poor crew roster planning, prompting India’s aviation regulator to impose fines, issue warnings to senior management, and order the removal of the head of operations control from his role.

InterGlobe Aviation, IndiGo’s parent company, posted a profit of 6.13 billion rupees for the quarter ended December 31, down sharply from 24.42 billion rupees a year earlier. While quarterly revenue rose 6.2% to 234.72 billion rupees, the airline took a total one-time hit of 14.67 billion rupees, partly due to labour law changes, even as costs climbed nearly 10% and fuel expenses rose 8%.

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