IndiGo Soars Solo Despite Turbulence: Only Major Indian Airline To Post Profit In FY25

Last Updated:December 12, 2025, 02:19 IST

The data presented in Lok Sabha by Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol painted a challenging picture for the sector as a whole

IndiGo's strong financial performance in FY25 comes despite a recent and massive operational crisis that severely impacted its public image and overall stability. File image

Market leader IndiGo was the only major scheduled Indian airline to achieve profitability in the financial year 2024-25, reporting a profit of Rs 7,253 crore, according to a written reply submitted by the Ministry of Civil Aviation in the Lok Sabha. This performance highlights the stark dichotomy gripping India’s rapidly growing aviation sector, where rising passenger traffic is failing to translate into financial stability for almost all carriers except the low-cost giant.

The data presented by Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol painted a challenging picture for the sector as a whole, showing that the combined net loss for Indian carriers widened to Rs 5,289.70 crore in FY2024–25, reflecting immense operational pressures. IndiGo’s profit, while significant, actually saw a decline from the Rs 8,167.49 crore it earned in the previous fiscal year, suggesting that even the industry leader is not immune to sector headwinds.

IndiGo’s rivals, meanwhile, recorded substantial deficits. Air India, the flag carrier now owned by the Tata Group, ended the year with a deficit of Rs 3,976 crore. Its low-cost arm, Air India Express, suffered an even steeper loss of Rs 5,832 crore. New entrant Akasa Air, despite strong operational metrics, reported a loss of Rs 1,986 crore as it continued its aggressive expansion phase. Even Alliance Air reported a loss of Rs 691 crore, while SpiceJet remained marginally negative. Only a few smaller, niche carriers like Blue Dart and Star Air managed to secure modest profits alongside IndiGo.

This financial paradox persists despite the fact that domestic passenger traffic grew by 7.7 per cent in FY2024–25, reaching a total of 16.55 crore flyers. The core issues driving the losses are high operating costs, particularly expensive Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF), significant debt burdens, intense fare competition, and, recently, operational disruptions.

IndiGo’s strong financial performance in FY25 comes despite a recent and massive operational crisis that severely impacted its public image and overall stability. IndiGo faced its worst-ever period of flight disruptions this month, resulting in the cancellation of thousands of flights and stranding tens of thousands of passengers across the country during the busy holiday season. The chaos was primarily triggered by the airline’s failure to adequately adjust its pilot rosters and staffing levels to comply with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s (DGCA) revised Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) rules, which mandated increased rest periods and stricter night-duty caps for pilots. The crisis forced the DGCA to intervene, granting a temporary exemption on some rules while simultaneously ordering a reduction in IndiGo’s schedule and launching a high-level inquiry into the airline’s “mismanagement and planning failures", underscoring the severe operational stress that accompanied its financial success.

IndiGo’s dominance, controlling nearly 65 per cent of the domestic market, allows it to leverage economies of scale and maintain superior operational efficiencies that its competitors cannot match. The government clarified that since the sector was deregulated in 1994, financial and operational decisions remain the responsibility of individual airlines, underscoring that the current market pressures are expected to continue shaping the industry’s consolidation.

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