Kolkata: The Maha Kumbh that began on January 13, 2025 and continued for 45 days, not only set a record attracting 660 million people, but also helped others set records. For one, the rush of pilgrims to Prayagraj to attend the event helped India’s biggest airline IndiGo achieve a record net profit in Q4 (January-March) of FY25 as well.
InterGlobe Aviation, the holding company of IndiGo, reported its highest-ever fourth quarter net profit of Rs 3,067.5 crore, The figure was a huge 62% jump from Rs 1,894.8 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago. In the fourth quarter of FY25 IndiGo carried 31.9 million passengers which was a rise of 19.6% compared to the same quarter last year.
IndiGo’s holy dip in profits
“It was an exceptionally strong fourth quarter with strong demand, a good execution of our strategy and some events like the Maha Kumbh obviously helping the performance,” Pieter Elbers, CEO of IndiGo, told the media. “Our sustained performance is the result of record passenger volumes, operational efficiencies, agility and commitment demonstrated by IndiGo employees,” he added.
Indigo said in end January how it stepped up efforts to help pilgrims reach the event. It increased flights and seat capacity to and from Prayagraj airport during the period when the Maha Kumbh Mela 2025 was organised. When the rush of visitors rose beyond expected levels, IndiGo added more flights taking the number to 1.65 lakh seats to and from Prayagraj, which was more than double the normal capacity to the airport.
In fact, IndiGo connected the venue to 10 locations in India. Services from Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Jaipur were added from the ongoing services to and from New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Raipur and Bhubaneswar. It also pressed more A321, its larger aircraft, into service. Overall, IndiGo operated around 900 flights to and from the city, while the regular number is 490.
Wedding invitations spiced up the party
The peak wedding season also contributed to increased booking. The peak wedding season usually stretches from November to March and IndiGo exploited it to the hilt. Usually for hotels and airlines, this season a large number of families, wedding guests and honeymooning couples flying in and out of the country to a huge number of destinations.
The stock of InterGlobe Aviation, the company for IndiGo, soared by 1.34% on Thursday afternoon after record Q4 profits in FY25. Robust business for the Maha Kumbh and brisk bookings for the wedding season were pointed out as the driving factors. Biz News Business News – Personal Finance News, Share Market News, BSE/NSE News, Stock Exchange News Today
