As IndiGo enters its 20th year of operations, the country’s largest airline by market share plans to induct 39 Airbus A321XLR aircraft, with nine scheduled to join the fleet in this year, chief executive officer Pieter Elbers said at Wings India 2026.
IndiGo currently operates a fleet of about 440 aircraft, and expects to add close to 56 aircraft during the year, subject to delivery timelines. It had inducted 55 in 2025.
Elbers said the additional aircraft would support IndiGo’s plans to expand long-haul and one-stop international connectivity, while domestic operations would remain its core business. IndiGo aims to have its international routes account for 40 percent of the airline’s network by 2030.
“India today is a different market from 2006,” Elbers said, pointing to rapidly rising consumer demand and faster international integration of the economy.
Air travel penetration in India has risen from around 2 percent to about 7 to 8 percent over the years, but remains well below global averages, Elbers said. IndiGo expects this to increase to around 15 percent over time as incomes rise and connectivity improves. He added that deeper economic engagement, including the India-European Union trade agreement, could further support international travel demand.
Nearly 90 percent of India’s population now lives within 100 kilometres of an airport served by IndiGo, Elbers said, adding that new routes to previously unserved cities were already contributing to local economic activity.
The longer-term ambition, Elbers said, is to offer one-stop connectivity from every Indian city to destinations across Europe, the US, Southeast Asia and Africa.
In numbers: IndiGo in a tailspin: What numbers tell us about the airline in crisis
When asked about the disruptions, Elbers said IndiGo took a decision to sharply curtail operations to reset its network and stabilised flights within days. “By the night of December 5, we were back to a stable operation,” he said, adding that passengers were informed in advance and offered alternatives, refunds and compensation. By the end of the month, the airline was again carrying about 3.7 lakh to 3.8 lakh passengers a day. “Three days of disruption cannot define what we have built over 20 years,” Elbers pointed out.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) imposed penalties totalling ₹22.20 crore on IndiGo for the disruption, which led to over 2,500 flight cancellations and around 1,850 delays. The airline has also been asked to furnish a ₹50 crore bank guarantee, to be released in phases after compliance measures and long-term corrective actions are implemented.
The regulator issued warnings to senior management, including Elbers and chief operating officer Isidre Porqueras, citing inadequate preparedness for revised pilot Flight Duty Time Limitation rules, which govern duty hours and rest requirements. It also directed the airline to relieve Jason Herter, senior vice president of the operations control centre, of his current responsibilities.
The penalty, the highest ever imposed by the DGCA on an airline, followed a detailed inquiry into the crisis. The regulator also temporarily curtailed IndiGo’s domestic schedule and placed oversight teams at its headquarters as operations stabilised.
Exceptional items of Rs1,546.5 crore included provisions related to new labour laws, costs linked to the operational disruption and the DGCA penalty. Revenue from operations rose by 6.2 percent year on year to Rs23,471 crore, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose by 3.6 percent to Rs5,367 crore.
Capacity expanded 11.2 percent during the quarter, while passenger numbers rose by 2.8 percent. IndiGo expects capacity, measured in available seat kilometres, to grow by around 10 percent in the fourth quarter of FY26 compared with the year-ago period.
At the Wings India 2026 event, when asked whether losses could persist into the final quarter, Elbers said the airline had not issued any projections.
First Published: Jan 29, 2026, 11:28
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