India's Aviation Market

Monthly Airline Data Updates for the Indian Market

Discover the Busiest Airports and Airlines in India This Month | January 2026

How much airline capacity is there in India? Find out with new data each month.

Here's an overview of the top statistics from India's aviation market this month:

  • Busiest airport: Delhi (DEL)
  • Biggest airline: IndiGo
  • Indian state with most airline capacity: Delhi
  • Top country market: United Arab Emirates
  • And more.
Data is sourced from OAG's Schedules Analyser; a cutting-edge platform for airline schedule analysis. 

 

Airline Capacity in India | January 2026

 

In India this month there are 90 airlines with scheduled capacity and 121 airports

How much airline capacity is there in India This Month?

  • In January 2026, 67% of seats are on domestic routes and 33% are on international routes. 
  • International and domestic markets have each grown by 4.6% over the past year.
  • Low-cost airlines dominate the Indian market, holding 69% of capacity, and have grown by 9.3% compared with January 2025.
  • Low-cost capacity is 18.3 million seats, and full-service capacity is 8.4 million seats.
  • Full-service airline capacity has reduced by 4.3% year-on-year and accounts for 31% of the Indian market.

*International capacity is reported on a two-way basis.

WE'LL LET YOU KNOW WHEN NEW DATA IS ADDED

Add your name to the list and we'll email you once a week with a round-up of the new aviation data added to our dashboards, the latest in-depth analysis from our air travel experts, travel technology news, easy to digest infographics and more.

Top Ten Airlines in India (Departing seats, one-way) | January 2026

 

Which is the biggest airline in India?

  • IndiGo (6E) is the largest airline in India in January 2026 with 13.3m seats, a 5% increase year-on-year.
  • Air India (AI) is the second-largest airline in India in January 2026, with 3.9m seats and a 14% market share. However, its capacity has fallen by 5% year-on-year, with 193k fewer seats than last January.
  • Air India Express (IX) has increased capacity by 14% year-on-year, taking it to 2.7m seats. Combined, the Air India group carriers account for 25% of airline capacity.
  • SpiceJet (SG) has increased capacity by 19% year-on-year to 883k seats.

India's Top 10 States by Airline Capacity (Domestic + International) | January 2026

 

Which is India's Busiest State for Air Travel?

  • Delhi is the busiest state in India for air travel in January 2026 with 4.2 million seats - 19.4% share of the Indian market.
  • Maharashtra is the second busiest state with 3.9m seats - 17.9% share of the Indian market.
  • Capacity increased at the fastest rate in Karnataka, up 11% vs last year, taking it to 2.5m seats.

India's Top 10 Country Markets | January 2026

 

Which is INDIA'S BIGGEST COUNTRY MARKET?

  • The United Arab Emirates is India’s largest international country market in January 2026, with 1.2 million seats and a 27% share of total international capacity. Capacity is 2% higher than the same month last year.
  • The next busiest international country market, Thailand, has continued significant capacity growth in the last year, adding 15% more seats; however, this country has a much smaller market at 384k seats (9% market share).
  • Saudi Arabia and Singapore are third and fourth biggest country markets with 308,700 and 296,300 seats respectively (7% share each).

Top Ten Busiest Airports in India by Domestic Departing Seats | January 2026

 

Which is the Busiest Airport in India?

  • Delhi (DEL) remains India's busiest airport for domestic flights with 3 million seats in January 2026.
  • Mumbai (BOM) and Bengaluru (BLR) are the second and third-busiest domestic airports, with 2 million and 1.9 million seats respectively.
  • The airport with the biggest percentage increase in domestic capacity is Delhi (DEL) with 10% more seats than January 2025, followed by Bengaluru (BLR) with 7% more seats.
  • Domestic capacity at Kolkata and Hyderabad contracted by 4% vs last year.

  • READY TO VIEW: The World's Busiest Airports of 2025

Top 10 Domestic Routes in India | January 2026

Where do flights within India go?

  • Mumbai (BOM) to Delhi (DEL) remains the busiest domestic route in India in January 2026 with 704,700 seats.
  • Bengaluru (BLR) to Delhi (DEL) is the second busiest domestic route, with 499,000 seats in January 2026, an 11% increase in capacity compared to January 2025.
  • The largest percentage increase in capacity this month is on the Mumbai (BOM) to Chennai (MAA) route, which has added 28% more seats to reach 254,000.

  • Seven of the Top 10 busiest domestic routes in India are from Delhi (DEL) in January 2026.

India's Top 10 International Routes | January 2026

Where do flights FROM India go?

  • Mumbai (BOM) to Dubai (DXB) remains the busiest international route from India with 238k seats, despite capacity reducing by 1% year-on-year.
  • Delhi (DEL) to Dubai (DXB) is the second busiest route with 208k seats, and Delhi (DEL) to London Heathrow (LHR) is the third busiest route with 164k seats.
  • Capacity on the Delhi - Kathmandu (DEL -KTM) route increased at the fastest rate again this month, increasing by 29% year-on-year.

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