Shares of InterGlobe Aviation, the owner of IndiGo, have been under heavy selling pressure after massive flight disruptions linked to revised pilot duty rules, with the stock losing nearly 17% in a little over a week.
The share price of InterGlobe Aviation has slid from around Rs 5,917 on November 27 to about Rs 4,913 on Tuesday, as the airline grappled with operational challenges following the rollout of new Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL). The turmoil led to the cancellation of more than 1,000 flights in a single day described as the highest-ever daily cancellation count by any Indian carrier so far, according to an ET report.
The airline later conceded that the new pilot duty norms, coupled with what it called “minor” technical glitches, had caused widespread delays and cancellations. As per the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), over 2,000 flights have been cancelled in the past week. IndiGo has submitted its formal reply to the regulator’s show-cause notice.
Mutual Fund Exposure Remains High
Even after the steep correction, mutual funds still hold significant exposure to InterGlobe Aviation. As of October, mutual fund schemes together owned nearly 6 crore shares of the company, with a combined value of about Rs 38,226 crore.
Around 43 mutual fund houses had the stock in their portfolios, with ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund emerging as the biggest shareholder among them. It held about 1.19 crore shares, worth roughly Rs 6,718 crore.
SBI Mutual Fund and HDFC Mutual Fund were next, with holdings of 88.22 lakh and 78.05 lakh shares respectively. Kotak Mutual Fund held close to 52.41 lakh shares, while UTI Mutual Fund owned around 39.04 lakh shares.
Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund and Bandhan Mutual Fund held 17.70 lakh and 8.60 lakh shares respectively. Edelweiss Mutual Fund owned about 3.91 lakh shares, valued at around Rs 220 crore.
Among smaller positions, Helios Mutual Fund and Union Mutual Fund each held just over 1 lakh shares. JioBlackRock Mutual Fund, the newest player in the space, owned 40,244 shares in total—primarily via its flexi-cap fund, with a smaller allocation through its Nifty50 index fund.
Capitalmind Mutual Fund and Unifi Mutual Fund held about 9,880 and 6,213 shares respectively, while Taurus Mutual Fund had a minimal holding of just 585 shares.
According to the DGCA, IndiGo has acknowledged that the combination of revised duty-time rules and technical issues put its operations under strain, resulting in large-scale cancellations and delays across its network. The regulator is currently examining the airline’s response as its scrutiny continues.