IndiGo chaos sends Rahul Bhatia out of the $10 billion club

IndiGo

’s operational turbulence is now hitting its promoters’ pockets. A string of flight cancellations has wiped out nearly $5 billion in InterGlobe Aviation’s market cap, dragging founder Rahul Bhatia’s net worth down by $1.5 billion. His net worth has now fallen below the $10 billion mark for the first time in six months, as the airline’s stock has declined in eight of the past nine sessions.

With a current fortune of $9.1 billion, Bhatia now ranks 20th among Indian billionaires, while Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries remains at the top of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index with a net worth of $105 billion. Bhatia sits just below Murali Divi of Divi’s Laboratories and Mangal Prabhat Lodha, founder of Lodha Developers, who hold the 18th and 19th spots, respectively.

A brief respite on Tuesday — when the stock snapped a seven-day losing streak — proved short-lived. IndiGo shares resumed their decline on Wednesday, December 10, after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation directed the airline to cut 10% of its flight schedule, citing operational strain.

Bhatia’s wealth has always been closely tied to IndiGo’s fortunes. His peak net worth of $11.2 billion came when the airline’s shares hit a record ₹6,155.50 in August this year. The bulk of his wealth arises from a 36% stake in InterGlobe Aviation, supplemented by holdings in InterGlobe Technology Quotient and InterGlobe Hotels. Overall promoter shareholding stands at 41.6% as of September 2025, down from higher levels two years ago, while public ownership has climbed to 58.4%. IndiGo’s market value now stands at $20.7 billion.

The airline’s current crisis is rooted in a double whammy: the operational disruption caused by new Flight Duty Time Limit (FDTL) norms, and the Airbus software upgrade issues that hit fleet availability. Brokerage Jefferies pointed out that IndiGo’s trademark “lean, high-utilisation model” has been disproportionately affected by stricter pilot-rest rules, which prohibit airlines from substituting weekly rest with leave. The carrier is also grappling with higher crew costs and currency-related pressures.

The turbulence comes at an awkward time for IndiGo, which is in the middle of an aggressive international push — including large Airbus orders, a new business-class product, and codeshare tie-ups with Delta Air Lines, Air France-KLM, and Virgin Atlantic.

Investor worries deepened after Moody’s termed the wave of cancellations and delays “credit negative,” warning of possible revenue losses arising from passenger refunds, compensation payouts, and potential penalties by the aviation regulator.

Despite the current headwinds, IndiGo has historically been a standout wealth creator. Since its 2015 listing, the stock has delivered double-digit annual returns in nearly every year except 2016, 2018, and 2022. But the ongoing slump has dragged its year-to-date gains to 5.5%, a sharp contrast to the nearly 50% returns generated over the past two years.