Indigo’s Rahul Bhatia, Board Of Directors Under Fire As Flight Cancellations Continue
IndiGo faces scrutiny as mass cancellations and silence from MD Rahul Bhatia spark governance concerns. A report by Institutional Investor Advisory Services blames board failures, while the airline now claims operations are stabilising.
The Gist
As operational chaos ensues, IndiGo's board is criticised for failing to manage the crisis effectively.
- Institutional Investor Advisory Services highlighted the absence of direct communication from leadership amid the turmoil.
- The board, composed of aviation experts, is questioned for not anticipating regulatory changes impacting operations.
- IndiGo's reasoning for cancellations has been labelled as misleading, raising concerns about prioritising profits over safety.
As flight cancellations continued to disrupt thousands of passengers and rattle India’s aviation regulator, the board of InterGlobe Aviation Ltd. (IndiGo) — and its managing director, Rahul Bhatia — is under mounting scrutiny for silence in the middle of one of the biggest operational crises the airline has faced.
Despite being the MD, Bhatia has not spoken publicly since IndiGo abruptly cancelled more than 1,000 flights in a single day last week. On December 8, over 400 flights were cancelled. The silence has struck a nerve among stakeholders — from stranded passengers to rattled investors — fueling questions around accountability and leadership at India’s largest airline.
Shares of InterGlobe Aviation Limited, that runs IndiGo, fell 8% on Monday, wiping away investor value and triggering concern that the company’s governance failure is now spilling into financial and operational instability.
Investor Advisory Firm Calls Out IndiGo Board
In a sharply worded report, Institutional Investor Advisory Services (IiAS) criticised IndiGo’s leadership, saying the airline’s board has “failed not only in managing the crisis but also in taking responsibility for a problem largely of its own making.”
IiAS noted that the first formal communication released on December 6, days into the chaos, came in the form of a generic statement signed only by an “IndiGo spokesperson” — not by Bhatia, not by the board, and not by any named executive.
The advisory firm noted that Rahul Bhatia first joined the board as a non-executive director and was later appointed managing director on February 4, 2022. While he holds the top executive role, he does not receive remuneration from the company for the position.
A Silent Board — Despite Aviation Heavyweights Sitting on It
IiAS questioned why a board consisting of highly credentialed aviation professionals stayed quiet even as the crisis escalated.
The board includes Birender Singh Dhanoa, a retired senior Indian Air Force official, Michael G. Whitaker, a former administrator from a U.S. aviation regulatory body, M Damodaran, a former SEBI chairman, but Pieter Elbers — once the face of IndiGo’s leadership globally — is no longer even on the board, reducing visible accountability further.
Yet, according to the report, the board failed to anticipate regulatory changes from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on revised pilot duty norms — despite having “sufficient notice and time” to comply.
IiAS called IndiGo’s reasoning that cancellations were intended to “reboot networks and systems” opportunistic and misleading, saying that if the decision were strategic, passengers and staff would not have been blindsided.
The Core reported how the media has been going after the CEO, the aviation regulator, and even questioning the aviation ministry, but Rahul Bhatia remains unseen, unheard, and curiously untouched.
Culture, Not Just Operations, Under the Scanner
IiAS argued the chaos reflects a deeper culture problem at the airline — one where scale and dominance overshadow responsibility, safety, and communication.
Quoting Peter Drucker — “Culture eats strategy for breakfast” — the firm warned that IndiGo may be prioritising profits over safety and people, especially as DGCA had to temporarily relax pilot rest rules and Indian Railways deployed 90 emergency trains to help stranded travellers.
Someone Needs to Step Up
With IndiGo now forming a crisis committee after operations began collapsing, IiAS called the move “too late” and said investors and the public deserve direct accountability.
“Someone needs to step up and demonstrate leadership — it will be a shame if it is the regulator and not the board,” the report said.
For now, customers are still stranded and employees are stretched, and Rahul Bhatia has yet to speak.
Civil Aviation Minister Rammohan Naidu, on Monday at the Winter Session at the Rajya Sabha, mentioned that DGCA consulted airlines for a month on new duty rules. Variations were approved. IndiGo’s cancellations stem from internal mismanagement, not regulation alone.
IndiGo said on Monday that operations have stabilised, with over 1,800 flights running, full network coverage restored, and on-time performance improving to around 90%. The airline has issued advance cancellations, processed Rs 827 crore in refunds, assisted stranded passengers, and says it is on track to return to full normalcy soon.
