Indigo: Former British Airways boss Willie Walsh named CEO of Indian carrier

India's largest airline IndiGo has named aviation industry veteran Willie Walsh as its new chief executive, weeks after the resignation of its former CEO. Walsh will join IndiGo in August after the end of his term as the director general of the International Air Transport Association. Pieter Elbers resigned as IndiGo's CEO on 10 March with immediate effect, citing personal reasons. But it was widely seen as being linked to a recent crisis that forced the airline to cancel thousands of flights, the largest disruption in its 20-year history. In December, the carrier cancelled about 4,500 flights, leaving thousands of passengers stranded at airports across India. IndiGo controls about two-thirds of the country's domestic aviation market, so the inconvenience caused by the disruptions was huge. Thousands of people missed important life events, including funerals and their own weddings, and were left scrambling to make alternate arrangements. The disruption followed the introduction of new pilot duty and rest regulations in India designed to reduce fatigue among flight crews. The airline later acknowledged it had misjudged how many pilots it would need once the rules came into force. In

Apr 1, 2026 → Apr 1, 2026