India’s IndiGo names Iata head Willie Walsh as new CEO

Published Tue, Mar 31, 2026 · 06:33 PM

[NEW DELHI] Indian low-cost carrier IndiGo named Willie Walsh, the current director general of the International Air Transport Association (Iata), as its new chief executive on Tuesday (Mar 31).

Walsh’s tenure as head of the global airline industry body comes to a close on Jul 31, and he is expected to join IndiGo no later than Aug 3, the airline said in a statement.

Walsh’s appointment comes weeks after Pieter Elbers abruptly stepped down as IndiGo’s CEO following scrutiny over the carrier’s failure to plan properly for pilot rest and duty rules, which led to mass flight cancellations in December.

The airline has a roughly 65 per cent market share in India, the world’s fastest-growing aviation market. It cancelled over 4,500 flights in December in what was the biggest crisis in IndiGo’s 20-year history.

Regulators later reprimanded Elbers for “inadequate overall oversight of flight operations and crisis management.”

Co-founder and managing director Rahul Bhatia had temporarily taken charge of the airline in the days following Elbers’ departure.

Prior to joining Iata, Walsh spent his entire career in the airline industry, beginning as a cadet pilot with Aer Lingus in 1979 and becoming its CEO in 2001.

In 2005, he was appointed the chief executive of British Airways. Walsh has served as the director general of Iata since April 2021. REUTERS