Willie Walsh is to join IndiGo in August as its new CEO when he ends his term as the Director General of airline body IATA.
The former British Airways Chief Executive is replacing Pieter Elbers, who resigned as IndiGo CEO on 10 March.
At the time, Pieter said he was leaving for ‘personal reasons’, but his resignation followed the sudden cancellation last December of around 4,500 flights due to a pilot shortage following the introduction of new rest periods for flight crew.
IndiGo, the biggest domestic airline in India, launched its first flights to London and Manchester last year as part of an international expansion, using Boeing 787 aircraft leased from Norse Atlantic Airways.
“The aviation landscape is evolving rapidly, and IndiGo is extremely well-positioned to be at the forefront of this change,” Willie said in a statement.
IndiGo chairman Vikram Singh Mehta said Willie’s experience in leading large airline operations and handling complex market conditions made him ‘the right choice to lead the carrier’s next phase of growth’.
