IndiGo

IndiGo was founded in 2005 as a private company by Rahul Bhatia of InterGlobe Enterprises and Rakesh Gangwal, a United States-based expatriate Indian. InterGlobe had a 51.12% stake in IndiGo, while 47.88% was held by Gangwal's Virginia-based company, Caelum Investments. IndiGo placed a firm order for 100 Airbus A320-200 aircraft in June 2005 with plans to begin operations in mid-2006. The airline took delivery of its first aircraft on 28 July 2006, nearly a year after placing the initial order. It commenced operations on 4 August 2006 with a service from New Delhi to Imphal via Guwahati. By the end of 2006, the airline had six aircraft, and nine more were acquired in 2007.

By April 2007, IndiGo had carried one million passengers, and the airline crossed the ten million-passenger mark and received delivery of its 25th aircraft in 2009. In December 2010, it replaced the then state-run carrier Air India, as the third largest airline in India, behind Kingfisher Airlines and Jet Airways with a passenger market share of 17.3%. In 2011, IndiGo placed an order for 180 Airbus A320 aircraft in a deal worth US$15 billion. In January 2011, after completing five years of operations, the airline was permitted to launch international flights. In December 2011, the DGCA expressed reservations that the rapid expansion could impact passenger safety.

In February 2012, IndiGo took delivery of its 50th aircraft, less than six years after it began operations. For the quarter ending March 2012, IndiGo was the most profitable airline in India and became the second largest airline in India in terms of passenger market share. On 17 August 2012, IndiGo became the largest airline in India in terms of market share surpassing Jet Airways, six years after commencing operations. By December 2012, the airline had ferried 50 million passengers.

In January 2013, IndiGo was the second fastest-growing low-cost carrier in Asia behind Indonesian airline Lion Air. In February 2013, following the announcement of the Civil Aviation Ministry that it would allow IndiGo to take delivery of only five aircraft that year, the airline planned to introduce low-cost regional flights by setting up a subsidiary. Later, IndiGo announced that it planned to seek permission from the ministry to acquire four more aircraft, therefore taking delivery of nine aircraft in 2013. It took delivery of its 75th aircraft this month. By March 2014, IndiGo was the second-largest low-cost carrier in Asia in terms of seats flown.

In November 2014, IndiGo received its 100th aircraft. This completed IndiGo's initial 100-aircraft order, placed in 2005. In March 2015, the carrier crossed the 100 million-passenger mark. In August 2015, the company placed an order for 250 Airbus A320neo aircraft worth $27 billion, making it the largest single order in Airbus history. It announced a ₹30.18 billion (equivalent to ₹39 billion or US$400 million in 2026) initial public offering on 19 October 2015 which opened on 27 October 2015. In October 2017, the airline announced a plan to strengthen its regional operations with flight connections to new tier II towns. It took delivery of its first ATR 72-600 aircraft in November 2017, and commenced operations using the aircraft the next month.

In October 2019, IndiGo placed an order for 300 Airbus A320neo aircraft worth ₹2,300 billion (US$24 billion), surpassing its own record of the largest single order in Airbus history. In December 2019, the airline became the first Indian airline to operate 1,500 daily flights, and to have a fleet of more than 250 aircraft. In 2020, it added ten domestic and eight international destinations. It added 45 aircraft to the fleet, taking its total fleet to 262 aircraft, and ferried over 75 million passengers in the year.

In January 2023, the airline became the first Indian airline to have a fleet of more than 300 aircraft. In February 2023, the airline inducted its first wide-body aircraft, a wet-leased Boeing 777-300ER, to its fleet. In June 2023, the airline placed an order for 500 Airbus A320neo family aircraft, the largest aircraft order in commercial aviation history. As of November 2023, IndiGo had a 61.8% domestic market share. In December 2023, IndiGo became the first Indian airline to have carried over 100 million passengers in a calendar year. In April 2024, it placed an order for 30 A350-900 aircraft, with an additional option for 70 aircraft in a deal valued at $5 billion. The delivery of these aircraft is expected to commence in 2027. On 14 November 2024, the airline introduced business class in select flights.

In December 2025, IndiGo experienced a major scheduling crisis, which led to the cancellation of thousands of flights. The issue arose after its failure to adjust to the new flight crew time limitations mandated by the DGCA. The crisis started on 2 December and the airline, which had a domestic market share of more than 60%, cancelled nearly 4,500 flights over the next ten days. In the aftermath of the operational disruptions, CEO Pieter Elbers resigned on 10 March 2026, with managing director Rahul Bhatia assuming management of the airline as the interim CEO. On 31 March 2026, IndiGo named Irish aviation executive Willie Walsh as its next chief executive officer. At the time he was the director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) (and was contracted to remain at IATA until 31 July 2026). On 3 August 2026, Walsh assumed office as CEO, succeeding Bhatia, who continued as the airline's managing director.

Operations and financials

IndiGo became one of the fastest growing low-cost carriers in the world and the largest airline in India. Its success has been attributed to its unique business model which reduces costs. The airline operates a single type of aircraft, the Airbus A320 family, in similar seating configuration which simplifies crew training and maintenance. The airline strikes bulk deals with Airbus, reducing unit costs. The airline targets a quick, 20-minute turn-around time to prepare the aircraft for the next flight, ensuring planes fly about 12 hours per day. Employees share multiple roles with a check-in staff doubling as baggage handlers. In July 2023, Indian aviation watchdog DGCA imposed a ₹3 million (US$31,000) fine on IndiGo for certain systemic deficiencies concerning documentation pertaining to operations, training, and engineering procedures. Also, in March 2025, the Income Tax Department imposed a penalty of ₹9.44 billion (US$98 million) on InterGlobe Aviation, IndiGo's parent company, for the assessment year 2021–22.

The key trends for IndiGo are (as of the financial year ending 31 March):

Network

As of November 2025, IndiGo operates more than 2,700 daily flights to 137 destinations, 94 in India and 43 abroad. Its main hub is at Delhi, with additional bases at Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Kochi. In January 2011, IndiGo received a licence to operate international flights after completing five years of operations. IndiGo's first international service was launched between New Delhi and Dubai on 1 September 2011.

Codeshare agreements

IndiGo codeshares with the following airlines:

Incidents

On 21 May 2025, an IndiGo flight 6E2142 from Delhi to Srinagar encountered severe turbulence when a sudden hailstorm struck it mid-air causing panic amongst those onboard. The pilot declared an emergency and landed the aircraft at the Srinagar International Airport without any reported injuries. The aircraft suffered visible damage to the nose due to hailstorm and was declared aircraft on ground for urgent repairs.