IndiGo Q3 Results: Net profit tumbles 77% to Rs 550 crore on December flight chaos, new labour codes

IndiGo Q3 Results

• IndiGo Q3 FY26 net profit dropped 77.5% YoY to Rs 549.8 crore due to disruptions.
• Labour codes, crew crisis caused Rs 1,546.5 crore exceptional losses.
• Revenue rose 6 percent YoY; IndiGo expects 10 percent capacity growth in Q4

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InterGlobe Aviation, the parent company of IndiGo, on January 22 reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 549.8 crore for Q3 FY26. This marks a 77.5 percent fall from the Rs 2,448.8 net profit reported in the same period of the previous financial year.

The firm said that the net profit during the quarter was impacted by new labour codes and the significant operational disruption faced in December 2025. Without the total exceptional items worth Rs 1,546.5 crore, the firm's net profit would have stood at Rs 2,096.3 crore, marking a 14 percent YoY fall.

The airline, which commands nearly two-thirds of the country's aviation market, saw its revenue from operations rise 6 percent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 23,471.9 crore during the quarter under review.

IndiGo said that its capacity increased 11.2 percent YoY to 4,540 crore, while passengers rose 2.8 percent YoY to 3,190 crore during Q3 FY26. The airline's load factor decreased by 2.4 basis points to 84.6 percent, while yield decreased by 1.8 percent to Rs 5.33.

Fuel CASK reduced by 2.8 percent to Rs 1.53. IndiGo expects capacity measured in available seat kilometres (ASK) for the fourth-quarter to rise 10 percent. Its overall costs in the third quarter climbed nearly 10 percent, with fuel expenses rising 8 percent.

For the October-December period, IndiGo reported a technical dispatch reliability of 99.9 percent, and an on-time performance (OTP) of 76.6 percent at six key metros, at a flight cancellation rate of 1.03 percent.

New labour code impact:

India’s new labour codes, consolidated under the Code on Wages, 2019, Industrial Relations Code, 2020, Code on Social Security, 2020 and Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020, came into effect on November 21.

The law introduces a uniform definition of wages. In practice, this stops companies from parking large chunks of pay in allowances to keep statutory payouts low. Accordingly, basic pay must comprise at least 50 percent of CTC. Several other changes like no salary delays, overtime pay rules and more were introduced as part of the new laws.

IndiGo's one-time exceptional loss due to the new labour codes stood at Rs 969.3 crore.

December crisis impact:

Earlier last month, IndiGo saw mass cancellations and subsequently huge chaos at the major airports across India. A significant factor behind the chaos was a sharp shortage of crew, particularly pilots, following the introduction of revised Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) norms. The new rules mandate more rest hours and humane rosters, but IndiGo has been struggling to realign its network accordingly.

According to some estimates, the disruption had affected over 300,000 travelers in early December 2025.

The firm's one-time exceptional loss due to the December crisis was reported at Rs 577.2 crore.

Notably, the DGCA recently levied a fine of Rs 22 crore on the carrier following widespread cancellations and delays between December 3 and 5. During this period, IndiGo had cancelled 2,507 flights and delayed another 1,852, leaving passengers stranded across multiple airports.

What the management said:

"This quarter, the Company faced major operational disruptions that resulted in significant flight cancellations and delays from 3rd to 5th December. We deeply regret the inconvenience faced by our customers and express our heartfelt gratitude for their patience and trust. I also want to thank all IndiGo colleagues who worked tirelessly to stabilize operations—your dedication and ‘service from the heart’ enabled us to return swiftly to normal operations. We are grateful to the Government, Aviation Authorities and all other partners in the Indian aviation ecosystem for their support in helping restore normalcy," said IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers.

He however added that despite these operational disruptions, IndiGo delivered strong topline growth. "We welcomed nearly 32 million customers in this quarter and around 124 million customers in the calendar year 2025. Our long-term fundamentals remain strong, backed by our expanding fleet, growing domestic and international network. As we look ahead, we remain committed to reliability, operational excellence and enhanced customer experience," the CEO added.