India aviation market briefing
Monthly airline data updates for the Indian market
September 2026
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How much airline capacity does India have in 2026?
Monthly scheduled capacity: September 2025 vs September 2026
Are low cost carriers dominating Indian aviation?
Low cost airlines dominate the Indian market holding 69% of capacity with 15.7m seats, a 4% decrease vs September 25. Full service capacity is 7 million seats, having decreased by 5.4% 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 2.7 million seats in September 26, an increase of 6% vs last year. Mumbai (BOM) and Bengaluru (BLR) airports are a close second and third busiest airports, with 1.7m and 1.5m seats respectively in September 26, despite a decline in capacity of 7% and 8% respectively.
| No | Code | Airport | Seats | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | DEL | Delhi | 2.71m | +5.9% |
| 2. | BOM | Mumbai | 1.72m | −6.5% |
| 3. | BLR | Bengaluru | 1.55m | −8.3% |
| 4. | HYD | Hyderabad | 1.02m | −14.7% |
| 5. | CCU | Kolkata | 0.73m | −19.0% |
| 6. | MAA | Chennai | 0.70m | −13.4% |
| 7. | PNQ | Pune | 0.56m | +9.4% |
| 8. | AMD | Ahmedabad | 0.45m | −13.5% |
| 9. | GAU | Guwahati | 0.29m | −12.1% |
| 10. | COK | Kochi | 0.26m | −10.2% |
Source: OAG · September 2026 · hover chart or click a table row to cross-highlight
Capacity only increased at 2 of the Top 10 airports this month, Delhi (6%) and Pune (9%) vs September 25.
Domestic capacity contracted at the fastest rate in Kolkata and Hyderabad this month, by 19% and 15% respectively vs last year.
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 September 26 is 11.3m seats. Nevertheless capacity reduced by 4.5% (525,600 fewer seats).
Air India (AI) is the second biggest airline in India with 3.2 million seats, a 14% market share. Air India (AI) capacity contracted again by 8.8% (309k fewer seats) in September 26 compared to last year.
Air India Express (IX) also reduced capacity by 2.6% vs September 25, 68k fewer seats.
SpiceJet reduced capacity at the fastest rate of 45.2%, 215k few seats.
Akasa Air and Emirates were the only airlines to increase capacity by 5% and 0.3% respectively vs September 25.
Seat capacity by airline
| Airline | Seats | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| IndiGo | 11,260,876 | −4.5% |
| Air India | 3,220,941 | −8.8% |
| Air India Express | 2,541,403 | −2.6% |
| Akasa Air | 836,940 | +5.0% |
| Emirates | 530,234 | +0.3% |
| Etihad Airways | 316,186 | −0.9% |
| SpiceJet | 260,536 | −45.2% |
| Singapore Airlines | 222,504 | −4.3% |
| Qatar Airways | 203,777 | −1.5% |
| Air Arabia | 159,630 | −6.5% |
What are the busiest domestic flight routes in India?
Mumbai (BOM) to Delhi (DEL) remains the busiest domestic route in India with 677,300 seats, an increase of 14% vs last year.
Bengaluru (BLR) to Delhi (DEL) remains the second busiest domestic routes with 446,300 seats, an increase in capacity of 3% vs September 25.
Capacity on the route Bengaluru - Pune (BLR-PNQ) increased at the fastest rate, adding 27% more seats to 212k seats.
Capacity decreased by 10% on the Mumbai to Hyderabad (BOM-HYD) route to 198k seats and by 9% on the Mumbai-Chennai (BOM-MAA) by 9% to 196k seats.
Source: OAG · September 2026 scheduled capacity
Which Indian state has the most flights?
Delhi is the busiest state in India with 3.8 million seats, 20.7% share of India's total market.
Maharashtra is second busiest with 3.6 m seats, 19.7% share of the Indian market.
Capacity has contracted most again in Kerala, by 26.2%, followed by Goa by 17.6% vs September 25.
Top 10 states by seat capacity
States adding most capacity — September 2026 vs September 2025
Delhi +5.7% (+204,085 seats) · Maharashtra +4.6% (+156,607 seats)
States removing most capacity — September 2026 vs September 2025
Kerala −26.2% (−277,753 seats) · Goa −17.6% (−89,964 seats) · West Bengal −16.8% (−206,157 seats) · Tamil Nadu −12.0% (−177,679 seats)
Where do Indian airlines fly internationally?
United Arab Emirates remains the busiest international market from India, despite a 5% reduction in capacity to 1.1m seats. The country still represents 28% of the total international market.
Saudi Arabia is the next busiest international country, with 9% market share and increased by 12% to 336k seats.
Capacity reduced by 23% in Thailand to 238k seats, followed by Malayasia and Singapore where capacity reduced by 13% and 12% respectively.
Capacity continued to increase by 16% to 200k seats to the UK, the sixth busiest market.
Capacity to Italy increased by 194% to 42k seats in September 26.
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 205k seats, despite capacity reducing again by 10% vs Sept 25.
Capacity on the Mumbai to London Heathrow (BOM-LHR) increased at the fastest rate of 14% to 129k seats.
Capacity on Abu Dhabi to Mumbai route (AUH-BOM) reduced by 11% to 102k 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 66% of all seats this month, with international capacity making up the remaining 34%. Overall capacity fell by 4.5%, with international capacity reducing by 2.1% and domestic capacity reducing by 5.6%.