IndiGo's new CEO Willie Walsh’s troubles with Indian aviation policy
IndiGo announces Willie Walsh as its CEO: Walsh had been critical of India’s complex airline taxation structure, new pilot duty norms, bilateral rights.
- Apr 1, 2026,
- Updated Apr 1, 2026 1:45 PM IST
IndiGo's new CEO, Willie Walsh, has been critical of the Indian aviation policy and has repeatedly called for reforms in taxation to unlock the full potential of its aviation sector. Walsh, Director General, International Air Transport Association (IATA) is to take charge as IndiGo CEO before August, 2026. His IATA term ends on July 31 this year.
During the IATA annual general body meeting in Delhi in June 2025, he had said that foreign airlines in India face tax-related challenges and the government needs to provide greater clarity on how its tax laws are applied if it wants to unlock the full potential of its aviation sector.
“For India to fully exploit the potential and to translate the vision into a reality, I think the issue of taxation does have to be addressed. Now, that’s not to say that you have to eliminate taxation, but there must be a clearer understanding of how the rules apply,” he said.
The Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence (DGGI) in August 2024 had issued show-cause notices to 10 foreign airlines over goods and services tax amounting to around Rs 10,000 crore.
The notice said that the overseas headquarters of these carriers, aircraft maintenance, crew salaries, and rentals constitute taxable supplies to their Indian branches under the reverse charge mechanism.
A trained commercial pilot himself, Walsh is known for drastic cost-cutting in his previous stints as CEO at Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus and British Airways. He is known in the industry as “Slasher” Walsh for his cost-cutting strategies. Amidst the December 2025 IndiGo operational meltdown, he opined that the new flight duty time limitations (FDTL) for pilots in India are much more restrictive compared to other jurisdictions but are important to ensure aviation safety.
The disruptions impacted over 900,000 passengers as operations of the country’s largest airline by market share were disrupted after the pilot duty norms came into effect. The DGCA imposed a Rs 22-crore fine on IndiGo and cut its winter schedule by 10%. The episode led to the exit of Pieter Elbers on March 10.
Walsh, as IATA DG, has called for India to open its bilateral flying rights, which have been on hold since 2016. Gulf carriers have been demanding for increasing the flights to India due to an increase in passenger growth in the sector.
“If you look at the aircraft orders, the wide-body aircraft orders that IndiGo and Air India have, they want to see more rights available to them. They are not going to get the right to fly unless you give them reciprocal rights. I am optimistic that it (the bilateral flying rights situation) will change,” he said in 2024.
IndiGo's new CEO, Willie Walsh, has been critical of the Indian aviation policy and has repeatedly called for reforms in taxation to unlock the full potential of its aviation sector. Walsh, Director General, International Air Transport Association (IATA) is to take charge as IndiGo CEO before August, 2026. His IATA term ends on July 31 this year.
During the IATA annual general body meeting in Delhi in June 2025, he had said that foreign airlines in India face tax-related challenges and the government needs to provide greater clarity on how its tax laws are applied if it wants to unlock the full potential of its aviation sector.
“For India to fully exploit the potential and to translate the vision into a reality, I think the issue of taxation does have to be addressed. Now, that’s not to say that you have to eliminate taxation, but there must be a clearer understanding of how the rules apply,” he said.
The Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence (DGGI) in August 2024 had issued show-cause notices to 10 foreign airlines over goods and services tax amounting to around Rs 10,000 crore.
The notice said that the overseas headquarters of these carriers, aircraft maintenance, crew salaries, and rentals constitute taxable supplies to their Indian branches under the reverse charge mechanism.
A trained commercial pilot himself, Walsh is known for drastic cost-cutting in his previous stints as CEO at Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus and British Airways. He is known in the industry as “Slasher” Walsh for his cost-cutting strategies. Amidst the December 2025 IndiGo operational meltdown, he opined that the new flight duty time limitations (FDTL) for pilots in India are much more restrictive compared to other jurisdictions but are important to ensure aviation safety.
The disruptions impacted over 900,000 passengers as operations of the country’s largest airline by market share were disrupted after the pilot duty norms came into effect. The DGCA imposed a Rs 22-crore fine on IndiGo and cut its winter schedule by 10%. The episode led to the exit of Pieter Elbers on March 10.
Walsh, as IATA DG, has called for India to open its bilateral flying rights, which have been on hold since 2016. Gulf carriers have been demanding for increasing the flights to India due to an increase in passenger growth in the sector.
“If you look at the aircraft orders, the wide-body aircraft orders that IndiGo and Air India have, they want to see more rights available to them. They are not going to get the right to fly unless you give them reciprocal rights. I am optimistic that it (the bilateral flying rights situation) will change,” he said in 2024.