Jan 22 (Reuters) - India's largest airline IndiGo reported a 75% drop in quarterly profit on Thursday as one of the country's worst aviation crises hurt its earnings.
IndiGo, which commands nearly two-thirds of the country's aviation market, is facing a competition probe and increased regulatory scrutiny after it cancelled several thousand flights in early December due to poor roster planning, leaving scores of passengers stranded and throwing airports into chaos.
The country's aviation regulator has fined the carrier, issued warnings to senior executives and directed the airline to remove the head of its operations control from his duties.
Interglobe Aviation, the airline's operator, posted a profit of 6.13 billion rupees ($66.9 million) for the quarter ending December 31, down from 24.42 billion rupees a year before.
The carrier said it has taken a one-time hit of 14.67 billion rupees ($160.14 million) due to the refunds as well as the country's newly enacted labour code.
($1 = 91.6050 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)
