IndiGo Co-Founder: Airport-Airline Ownership Is a ‘Massive Conflict of Interest’

Skift Take If the idea is to break the two-airline duopoly, the irony is hard to miss. India could end up replacing airline concentration with something even more powerful — a conglomerate that controls the skies, the gates, and everything in between. IndiGo Co-Founder and Interim CEO Rahul Bhatia came out against a proposal that would let airport operators hold stakes in airlines, reacting to reports that the Indian government is exploring the policy change. “It has no global precedent because it typically would reflect a massive conflict of interest. And over a period of time, it would actually be against the interest of consumers,” Bhatia said on IndiGo's earnings call Thursday. Asked whether IndiGo itself might one day partner with an airport operator under a changed regulatory regime, Bhatia was noncommittal, calling the question “moot” until the policy picture becomes clearer. “Let's see how this whole thing develops, and then we can take a considered view on how to approach things into the future,” he said.