India aviation market briefing
Monthly airline data updates for the Indian market
October 2026
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How much airline capacity does India have in 2026?
Monthly scheduled capacity: October 2025 vs October 2026
Are low cost carriers dominating Indian aviation?
Low cost airlines dominate the Indian market holding 71% of capacity with 18.1m seats, a 0.3% increase vs October 25.
Full service carrier capacity is 7.3 million seats, having decreased by 6.3% 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 3 million seats in October 26, an increase of 3% vs last year.
Mumbai (BOM) and Bengaluru (BLR) airports are a close second and third busiest airports, with 1.9m and 1.8m seats respectively in October 26, despite a decline in capacity of 3% and 4% respectively.
| No | Code | Airport | Seats | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | DEL | Delhi | 2.96m | +2.5% |
| 2. | BOM | Mumbai | 1.87m | −2.5% |
| 3. | BLR | Bengaluru | 1.81m | −3.8% |
| 4. | HYD | Hyderabad | 1.14m | −15.3% |
| 5. | CCU | Kolkata | 0.97m | −0.7% |
| 6. | MAA | Chennai | 0.80m | −9.8% |
| 7. | PNQ | Pune | 0.56m | +5.5% |
| 8. | AMD | Ahmedabad | 0.55m | −12.3% |
| 9. | GAU | Guwahati | 0.32m | −7.8% |
| 10. | NMI | Navi Mumbai | 0.32m | New |
Source: OAG · October 2026 · hover chart or click a table row to cross-highlight
Capacity only increased at 2 of the Top 10 airports again this month, Delhi (3%) and Pune (5%) vs October 25.
Domestic capacity contracted at the fastest rate in Hyderabad and Ahmedabad this month, by 15% and 12% respectively vs last year.
Which is the biggest airline in India?
IndiGo (6E) continues to hold the majority share of capacity from India with 51% share of the market. IndiGo's capacity in October 26 is 13.1m seats, despite a capacity reduction of 0.2% (28,600 fewer seats).
Air India (AI) is the second biggest airline in India with 3.3 million seats, a 13% market share. Air India (AI) capacity contracted again by 12.6% (478k fewer seats) in October 26 compared to last year.
Air India Express (IX) is third largest airline with 2.7m seats and also reduced capacity, by 0.3% vs October 25. Collectively, the Air India group operates 23% of India's capacity.
SpiceJet reduced capacity at the fastest rate of 38.8%, 241k fewer seats.
Akasa Air and Emirates were the only airlines to increase capacity by 35.6% and 0.7% respectively vs October 25.
Seat capacity by airline
| Airline | Seats | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| IndiGo | 13,070,706 | −0.2% |
| Air India | 3,318,296 | −12.6% |
| Air India Express | 2,667,917 | −0.3% |
| Akasa Air | 1,186,775 | +35.6% |
| Emirates | 552,175 | +0.7% |
| SpiceJet | 380,126 | −38.8% |
| Etihad Airways | 323,946 | −2.0% |
| Singapore Airlines | 237,616 | −1.8% |
| Qatar Airways | 210,009 | −2.1% |
| Air Arabia | 170,432 | −4.7% |
What are the busiest domestic flight routes in India?
Mumbai (BOM) to Delhi (DEL) remains the busiest domestic route in India with 681,800 seats, an increase of 7% vs last year.
Bengaluru (BLR) to Delhi (DEL) is again the second busiest domestic route with 475,100 seats, a contraction in capacity of 1% vs October 25.
Capacity between Kolkata - Delhi (CCU-DEL) increased at the fastest rate, adding 13% more seats to 325k seats.
Capacity decreased by 14% on Delhi-Chennai (DEL-MAA) to 216k seats and by 12% on Ahmedabad-Delhi (AMD-DEL) to 222k seats.
Source: OAG · October 2026 scheduled capacity
Which Indian state has the most flights?
Delhi is the busiest state in India with 4.1 million seats, 23.9% share of India's total market.
Maharashtra is second busiest state with 3.9m seats, 22.8% share of the Indian market.
Capacity has contracted most again in Kerala, by 27%, followed by Goa by 10.5% vs October 25.
Top 10 states by seat capacity
States adding most capacity — October 2026 vs October 2025
Maharashtra +9.0% (+324,108 seats) · Delhi +3.8% (+151,152 seats)
States removing most capacity — October 2026 vs October 2025
Kerala −27.0% (−289,193 seats) · Telangana −12.3% (−200,481 seats) · Goa −10.5% (−62,430 seats) · Tamil Nadu −9.4% (−149,458 seats)
Where do Indian airlines fly internationally?
United Arab Emirates remains the busiest international market from India, despite a continued impact from disruption in the Middle East resulting in a 4% reduction in capacity to 1.1m seats. The UAE still accounts for 13% of the total Indian international market.
Saudi Arabia is the next busiest international country, which has increased by 23% to 352k seats representing 4% market share.
Capacity reduced by 16% in Thailand to 288k seats, followed by Malaysia and Nepal where capacity reduced by 11% and 10% respectively.
Capacity continued to increase by 12% to 202k seats to the UK, the sixth busiest market.
Capacity to Italy increased by 187% to 47k seats in October 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 220k seats, despite capacity reducing again by 6% vs Oct 25.
Capacity on Bangkok to Mumbai (BKK-BOM) increased at the fastest rate of 25% to 100k seats.
Capacity on Abu Dhabi to Mumbai (AUH-BOM) reduced by 9%, down to 105k 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 68% of all seats this month, with international capacity making up the remaining 32%.
Overall capacity contracted by 1.7%, with international capacity reducing by 0.4% and domestic capacity reducing by 2.3%.