India's aviation market

Indian aviation data at a glance

• Busiest airport: Delhi (DEL)
• Biggest airline: IndiGo
• Indian state with the most airline capacity: Delhi

Airline capacity in India

In India this month there are 92 airlines with scheduled capacity and 124 airports.

How much airline capacity is there in India this month?

• In April 2026, 70% of seats are domestic and 30% are international.
• Overall capacity is down 0.2%, with a sharp 7.9% drop in international capacity and a 3.4% rise in domestic capacity. This is driven by weaker demand on major Middle Eastern routes.
• Low-cost airlines lead the Indian market, accounting for 70% of capacity with 17.6 million seats, a 3.2% increase on April 2025.
• Full-service capacity is 7.4 million seats, down 7.4% year on year.

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

Top 10 airlines in India (departing seats, one-way)

Which is the biggest airline in India?

• IndiGo (6E) remains the largest airline in India, operating 50% of all seats. In April 2026, it offers 12.5 million seats, a 1% increase year on year.
• Air India (AI) is the second largest airline in India with 3.6 million seats and a 14% market share. Together with Air India Express (IX), the group operates 24% of India’s capacity, but both airlines are reducing capacity, down just over 0.5 million seats in April 2026 versus last year, an 8% decline. 
• SpiceJet has increased capacity by 43% compared to April 2025, to 841,000 seats (an additional 253,000 seats).

Top 10 busiest airports in India by domestic departing seats

Which is the busiest airport in India?

• Delhi (DEL) is India’s busiest domestic airport this month, with 3 million seats in April 2026, a 9% increase year on year.
• Bengaluru (BLR) and Mumbai (BOM) are the second and third busiest domestic airports, with 1.9 million and 1.8 million seats respectively in April 2026.
• Domestic capacity at Hyderabad continues to decline, down 8% compared to last year.
• Navi Mumbai International (NMI), Mumbai's new airport which began operations in December 2025, is now the 9th busiest domestic airport in April 2026.
  

India's top 10 states by airline capacity (domestic + international)

Which is India's busiest state for air travel?

• Delhi is the busiest state for air travel in India in April 2026 with 4.1 million seats and a 20% share of the total market.
• Maharashtra is the second busiest state with 3.8m seats, 18.5% share of the Indian market.
• Kerala has seen the largest capacity reduction, down 29.4%, followed by Telangana with 8.6% fewer seats compared to April 2025.
  

Top 10 domestic routes in India

Where do flights within India go?

• Mumbai (BOM) to Delhi (DEL) remains India’s busiest domestic route in April 2026, with 684,700 seats. Bengaluru (BLR) to Delhi (DEL) is the second busiest, with 503,000 seats and a 15% increase in capacity compared to April 2025.
• The largest percentage increase in capacity this month is on the Mumbai–Chennai (BOM–MAA) route, with seats up 24% to 240,000. It remains India’s seventh-busiest domestic route.
• Despite a 14% drop in capacity, the Delhi (DEL) to Srinagar (SXR) route has risen from 15th place in March 2026 to become the 10th busiest domestic route in April 2026.
  

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