India's Domestic Air Traffic Drops 4.2% in April Amid Softening Travel Demand, IndiGo Expands Market Share

India's Domestic Aviation Sector Sees Passenger Traffic Decline in April

India's domestic aviation sector witnessed a decline in passenger traffic in April, with airlines carrying just over 1.38 crore flyers, according to the latest data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). This represents a 4.2 per cent decrease from March's traffic of 1.44 crore passengers and a 3.47 per cent decline from the 1.43 crore passengers flown in April last year.

The DGCA reported that domestic carriers transported a total of 575.49 lakh passengers between January and April 2026, marking a marginal annual growth of 0.06 per cent compared to the same period last year. The slowdown in passenger traffic comes as airlines face multiple challenges, including softer travel demand, higher fuel costs, and network adjustments aimed at managing operational pressures.

Despite the overall decline, IndiGo strengthened its dominance in the domestic market, increasing its market share to 65 per cent in April from 63.3 per cent in March. In contrast, the share of the Air India Group declined to 24.7 per cent from 26.2 per cent during the same period. Akasa Air improved its market share slightly to 5.8 per cent, while SpiceJet's share slipped to 3.4 per cent.

Read also: Treasury Yields Experience Largest Increase in Two Weeks Following Release of Labor Market Data

In terms of punctuality, IndiGo emerged as the best-performing airline with an on-time performance (OTP) of 88.5 per cent across major airports. This was followed closely by Air India Group and Akasa Air.

The DGCA data also highlighted operational disruptions during the month. A total of 1.35 lakh passengers were affected by flight delays, while over 77,000 passengers faced cancellations. Airlines collectively paid compensation and facilitation costs running into several crores of rupees.

Note: Market share figures for April 2025 are not provided in the original text.

Read also: US-Iran Tensions Spark Uptick in Oil Prices Amid Global Market Decline