India aviation market briefing
Monthly airline data updates for the Indian market
August 2026
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How much airline capacity does India have in 2026?
Monthly scheduled capacity: August 2025 vs August 2026
Are low cost carriers dominating Indian aviation?
Low cost airlines dominate the Indian market holding 69% of capacity with 16.3m seats, an 1.6% decrease vs August 25. Full service capacity is 7.2 million seats, having decreased by 1.2% year on year.
Mainline vs low-cost
What is the busiest airport in India?
Delhi (DEL) is India's busiest airport for domestic flights with 2.9 million seats in August 26, an increase of 17% vs last year. Mumbai (BOM) and Bengaluru (BLR) airports are a close second and third busiest airports, with 1.8m and 1.6m seats respectively in August 26, despite a decline in capacity of 4% each.
| No | Code | Airport | Seats | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | DEL | Delhi | 2.88m | +17.2% |
| 2. | BOM | Mumbai | 1.78m | −3.6% |
| 3. | BLR | Bengaluru | 1.63m | −3.9% |
| 4. | HYD | Hyderabad | 1.05m | −13.3% |
| 5. | CCU | Kolkata | 0.76m | −12.0% |
| 6. | MAA | Chennai | 0.72m | −13.0% |
| 7. | PNQ | Pune | 0.59m | +11.1% |
| 8. | AMD | Ahmedabad | 0.45m | −11.6% |
| 9. | GAU | Guwahati | 0.31m | −1.8% |
| 10. | COK | Kochi | 0.29m | +1.7% |
Source: OAG · August 2026 · hover chart or click a table row to cross-highlight
Domestic capacity fell at the fastest rate in Hyderabad and Chennai this month, by 13% vs last year. Followed by Kolkata and Ahmedabad where domestic capacity declined by 12%.
Capacity at Kochi increased by 2% taking it to 10th busiest airport and moving Navi Mumbai International (NMI), Mumbai's new airport, into 11th busiest domestic airport in August 26.
Which is the biggest airline in India?
IndiGo (6E) continues to hold the majority share of capacity from India with 50% share of the market. IndiGo's capacity in August 26 is 11.7m seats.
Air India (AI) is the second biggest airline in India with 3.3 million seats, a 14% market share. Air India (AI) capacity contracted again by 4.2% (144k fewer seats) in August 26 compared to last year.
Air India Express (IX) also reduced capacity by 8.4% vs August 25, 228k fewer seats.
SpiceJet reduced capacity at the fastest rate of 16.6%, 80k few seats.
Akasa Air increased capacity by the fastest rate 2.8% vs August 25 to 848k seats (23k additional seats).
Seat capacity by airline
| Airline | Seats | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| IndiGo | 11,727,848 | +0.1% |
| Air India | 3,294,967 | −4.2% |
| Air India Express | 2,501,269 | −8.4% |
| Akasa Air | 847,855 | +2.8% |
| Emirates | 549,710 | +0.1% |
| SpiceJet | 403,644 | −16.6% |
| Etihad Airways | 322,738 | −3.1% |
| Singapore Airlines | 212,016 | −4.9% |
| Qatar Airways | 210,929 | +1.8% |
| Air Arabia | 165,750 | −7.1% |
What are the busiest domestic flight routes in India?
Mumbai (BOM) to Delhi (DEL) remains the busiest domestic route in India with 761,000 seats, an increase of 33% vs last year. Bengaluru (BLR) to Delhi (DEL) remains the second busiest domestic routes with 477,100 seats, an increase in capacity of 8% vs August 25.
Capacity on the route Bengaluru - Pune (BLR-PNQ) increased at the fastest rate, adding 25% more seats to 219k seats, and Kolkata - Delhi (CCU-DEL) increased by 21% to 303k seats vs last year.
Capacity decreased by 6% on the Ahmedabad-Delhi (AMD-DEL) route to 204k seats and by 5% on the Bengaluru-Mumbai (BLR-BOM) and Mumbai-Chennai routes to 363k and 203k seats respectively.
Source: OAG · August 2026 scheduled capacity
Which Indian state has the most flights?
Delhi is the busiest state in India with 3.9 million seats, 20.7% share of India's total market.
Maharashtra is second busiest state with 3.7 m seats, 19.7% share of the Indian market.
Capacity has contracted most again in Kerala, by 22.7%, followed by Goa by 13% vs August 25.
Top 10 states by seat capacity
States adding most capacity — August 2026 vs August 2025
Delhi +12.1% (+423,009 seats) · Maharashtra +7.0% (+241,866 seats) · Assam +3.2% (+12,538 seats)
States removing most capacity — August 2026 vs August 2025
Kerala −22.7% (−247,285 seats) · Goa −13.0% (−65,246 seats) · Tamil Nadu −11.6% (−176,547 seats) · Telangana −11.4% (−170,067 seats)
Where do Indian airlines fly internationally?
United Arab Emirates remains the busiest international market from India, despite a 4% reduction in capacity to 1.1m seats. The market still represents 15% of the market.
Saudi Arabia is the next busiest international country, with 4% market share and increased by 7% to 331k seats.
Capacity reduced by 21% in Thailand to 250k seats, taking it from third busiest international destination.
Capacity also reduced to Malaysia, Sri Lanka and to Singapore, by 22%, 13% and 10% respectively.
Capacity continued to increase by 25% to 220k seats to the UK, making it the fifth busiest market.
Top 10 international destination markets
Bubble size = seat volume · hover for exact figures
Mumbai (BOM) to Dubai (DXB) remains the busiest international route from India with 214k seats, despite capacity reducing again by 8% vs Aug 25.
Capacity on Abu Dhabi - Kochi (AUH-COK) increased by 14% to 103k whilst capacity on Abu Dhabi - Mumbai contracted by 15% to 109k.
Capacity on the Delhi to Kathmandu (DEL-KTM) route reduced by 19% to 89k seats.
India aviation: frequently asked questions
How much airline capacity is there in India? Find out with new data each month. Data is sourced from OAG's Schedules Analyser; a cutting-edge platform for airline schedule analysis.
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Domestic capacity accounts for 67% of all seats this month, with international capacity making up the remaining 33%. Overall capacity contracted by 1.5%, with international capacity reducing by 3.3% and domestic capacity reducing by 0.6%.