Shares of InterGlobe Aviation, the parent company of IndiGo, have fallen sharply over the past four days, as the airline grapples with a severe operational breakdown that has disrupted travel plans for thousands across the country. The carrier cancelled an unusually high number of flights, leaving passengers stranded for extended hours and sparking nationwide frustration.
read also: Mass Flight Cancellations by IndiGo Trigger Chaos at Hyderabad Airport
The company’s stock price has shed more than 7% on the BSE during the last four trading sessions. On Friday, the share price slipped by 1.22% to close at Rs 5,371.30 after touching an intraday low of Rs 5,266. On the NSE, the stock ended the day 1.27% lower at Rs 5,367.50, extending its total four-day decline to over 7%.
Since December 1, InterGlobe Aviation’s market capitalisation has dropped by roughly Rs 16,190 crore, reducing its valuation to around Rs 2.07 lakh crore.
The wider aviation network in India remained disrupted for a fourth consecutive day on Friday as IndiGo, which accounts for nearly two-thirds of domestic air traffic, cancelled more than one thousand flights. All departures from New Delhi were halted at one point, leaving passengers without clear rebooking options and causing significant missed events and lost connections.
The turmoil was triggered by IndiGo’s inability to adequately prepare for new pilot duty-time norms. These rules increase the weekly rest requirement for pilots from 36 to 48 hours and restrict 9 times landings to 2 per week instead of 6. IndiGo acknowledged that the large-scale cancellations were the result of planning errors and misjudgment.
Chief Executive Officer Pieter Elbers stated on Friday that the airline expects operations to stabilise between December 10 and December 15.
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