The result was sharply below Bloomberg analyst estimates of a profit of ₹1,871 crore.
Revenue rose 1.3% year-on-year to ₹22,438.4 crore from ₹22,151.9 crore in the year-ago quarter.
Operating performance weakens sharply
Operating performance deteriorated significantly during the quarter. EBITDAR — a key profitability metric for airlines that excludes aircraft lease rentals — fell 67.9% to ₹2,227.8 crore from ₹6,948.2 crore a year ago.
EBITDAR margin contracted sharply to 9.9% from 31.4%.
A major drag on profitability was a foreign exchange loss of ₹4,823 crore during the quarter, compared with a forex gain of ₹136.6 crore in the same period last year.
The airline also reported exceptional items worth nearly ₹250 crore during the quarter, primarily linked to the implementation of India’s new labour codes.
Fuel costs remained elevated at ₹6,650 crore during the quarter, while total expenses climbed to ₹25,932.5 crore from ₹19,928.1 crore a year ago. Higher maintenance, employee and finance-related costs also weighed on earnings.
Operationally, IndiGo’s capacity increased 3.4% year-on-year to 43.6 billion available seat kilometres (ASK), while passenger numbers rose 1.1% to 31.6 million during the quarter.
FY26 turns loss-making
For FY26, IndiGo reported revenue from operations of ₹84,961.9 crore, up from ₹80,802.9 crore in FY25. Despite the increase in revenue, the airline posted a net loss of ₹2,393.6 crore for the year, compared with a profit of ₹7,258.4 crore in the previous financial year.
Exceptional items for FY26 stood at ₹1,796.4 crore, including costs related to the rollout of new labour codes and operational disruptions during December 2025 that resulted in flight cancellations, passenger compensation payouts and a regulatory penalty imposed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
Commenting on the performance, Managing Director Rahul Bhatia said FY26 was marked by an “exceptionally challenging operating environment” that materially impacted profitability.
However, he said the underlying business remained resilient, with capacity growing 9.5% during the year and total income rising more than 6%.
Bhatia added that, excluding the impact of foreign exchange movements and exceptional items, IndiGo delivered a profit of ₹7,502.5 crore during FY26.
He said the airline continues to maintain a strong balance sheet and substantial liquidity despite prolonged volatility. Bhatia added that IndiGo remains focused on disciplined execution, cost efficiency and long-term value creation, although the near-term operating environment remains uncertain.
Looking ahead, IndiGo expects capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), to grow by around 3-4% year-on-year in the first quarter of FY27.
The airline ended FY26 with a fleet of 441 aircraft and a total cash balance of ₹51,651 crore.
Profitability swings through the year
Quarterly profitability remained volatile through the year. IndiGo posted a profit of ₹2,176 crore in the June quarter, slipped to a loss of ₹2,582 crore in the September quarter, returned to profit with ₹549 crore in the December quarter, and again swung to a loss in the March quarter.
Separately, the board approved a partial prepayment of up to $450 million of finance lease obligations to its wholly owned subsidiary, InterGlobe Aviation Financial Services IFSC Pvt. Ltd. The funds will be used for the acquisition of aviation assets, including aircraft, engines and aircraft parts.
Shares of InterGlobe Aviation ended 3.28% lower at ₹4,420 ahead of the results announcement on Friday. The stock has declined 24% over the past six months and is down 14% so far this year.
