The country’s largest airline said capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), increased 3.4% to 43.6 billion despite disruptions arising from the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Passenger traffic declined marginally by 1.1% to 31.6 million passengers, while load factor fell 1.7 percentage points to 85.8%.
Yield declined 2% YoY to Rs 5.2. Operating profitability also came under pressure during the quarter.
EBITDAR excluding foreign exchange impact stood at Rs 6,435 crore, compared with Rs 6,862 crore a year ago. EBITDAR margin declined to 28.7% from 31%.
Reported EBITDAR fell sharply to Rs 2,228 crore from Rs 6,948 crore in the year-ago period, while margin contracted to 9.9% from 31.4%.
Fuel costs provided some relief, with fuel cost per available seat kilometre declining 4.8% to Rs 1.53. However, non-fuel costs remained elevated, with CASK excluding fuel and forex rising 7.3% to Rs 3.15.
For the full financial year FY26, IndiGo said it delivered a profit of Rs 7,500 crore excluding the impact of foreign exchange movements and exceptional items.Commenting on the results, managing director Rahul Bhatia said the airline operated through an exceptionally challenging environment during the year.
“FY26 was marked by an exceptionally challenging operating environment, which materially impacted our profitability. Despite these conditions, the underlying performance of the business remained resilient,” Bhatia said.
He noted that IndiGo expanded capacity by 9.5% during the year while total income increased by more than 6%. The airline also highlighted its strong liquidity position despite the volatile operating environment.
“We continue to maintain a strong balance sheet with substantial liquidity, demonstrating resilience through prolonged periods of volatility,” Bhatia said.
The March quarter was particularly challenging for global airlines as geopolitical tensions in West Asia affected flight operations, increased route disruptions and contributed to higher operational uncertainty across international aviation markets.
Foreign exchange volatility also emerged as a major headwind for Indian carriers because a significant portion of aircraft leasing, maintenance and fuel-related expenses are denominated in foreign currencies. IndiGo carried 123 million passengers during FY26 and ended the year with more than 69,000 employees.
