India’s top airline profit falls 20pc on border conflict, air crash impact

IndiGo, India’s largest airline, reported a larger-than-expected drop in quarterly profit after a brief shutdown of some airports due to a border conflict and an Air India plane crash hit travel demand, reports Bloomberg.

Net income in the three months ended June fell 20 per cent to INR21.8 billion ($249 million), InterGlobe Aviation Ltd, the operator of IndiGo, said in an exchange filing Wednesday. That was less than the INR22.62 billion average of analyst estimates.

Revenue for the budget carrier was up 4.7 per cent at INR204.96 billion, missing estimates, while total costs rose 10 per cent to INR192 billion compared with the same period last year.The earnings show the hit from India briefly restricting flights from 32 airports in the country’s Northern and Western parts in May amid border skirmishes with Pakistan. The crash of a Boeing Co 787 jet operated by Air India on June 12 has also impacted broader travel sentiment and weighed on airlines.