India aviation market briefing

Monthly airline data updates for the Indian market

July 2026

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22.5m seats
▼ −4.7% YoY vs 23.6m in
Top airline
IndiGo −0.3% YoY
11.58m
Top airport
Delhi · DEL +6.5% YoY
2.60m
Top state
Delhi +5.0% YoY
3.62m

How much airline capacity does India have in 2026?

Domestic capacity accounts for 66% of all seats this month, with international making up the remaining 34%. Overall capacity contracted by 4.7%, with international capacity reducing by 4.8% and domestic capacity reducing by 4.6%.

Domestic & international · seats (millions)

Monthly scheduled capacity: July 2025 vs July 2026

Domestic 2026 Domestic 2025 International 2026 International 2025
Source: OAG · July 2026 scheduled capacity

Are low cost carriers dominating Indian aviation?

Low cost airlines dominate the Indian market holding 70% of capacity with 15.8m seats, an 3.2% decrease vs July 25. Full service capacity is 6.7million seats, having decreased by 8% year on year.

Market share & year-on-year change

Mainline vs low-cost

Source: OAG · July 2026 scheduled capacity

What is the busiest airport in India?

Delhi (DEL) is India's busiest airport for domestic flights with 2.6 million seats in July 26, an increase of 6% vs last year. Mumbai (BOM) and Bengaluru (BLR) airports are joint second busiest airports, with 1.6m seats each in July 26, despite a decline in capacity of 12% and 6% respectively.

No Code Airport Seats YoY
1.DELDelhi2.60m+6.5%
2.BOMMumbai1.60m−11.6%
3.BLRBengaluru1.56m−5.7%
4.HYDHyderabad1.01m−15.6%
5.CCUKolkata0.76m−12.5%
6.MAAChennai0.69m−15.5%
7.PNQPune0.56m+6.8%
8.AMDAhmedabad0.45m−9.7%
9.GAUGuwahati0.31m−4.2%
10.NMINavi Mumbai0.27mNew
YoY change vs seats
Airport capacity and year-on-year growth
0.27m → 2.60m seats + YoY − YoY

Source: OAG · hover chart or click a table row to cross-highlight

Domestic capacity contracted at the fastest rate in Hyderabad again this month, by 16% vs last year. Followed by Chennai where domestic capacity declined by 15%.

Navi Mumbai International (NMI), Mumbai's new airport which began operations in December 25, is the 10th busiest domestic airport in July 26.

Which is the biggest airline in India?

IndiGo (6E) continues to hold the majority share of capacity from India with a 51% share of the market. IndiGo's capacity in July 26 is 11.6m seats, with a slight decrease of 0.3% year on year.

Air India (AI) is the second biggest airline in India with 2.8 million seats, a 12% market share. Air India (AI) capacity contracted again by 19.2% (659k fewer seats) in July 26 compared to last year.

Air India Express (IX) also reduced capacity by 17% vs July 25, 445k fewer seats.

Akasa Air increased capacity by the fastest rate, up 7.4% vs July 25 to 881k seats (60k additional seats).

Departing seats · July 2026

Seat capacity by airline

Source: OAG · July 2026 scheduled capacity
Top 10 airlines by seats — July 2026
AirlineSeatsYoY
IndiGo11,582,358−0.3%
Air India2,774,884−19.2%
Air India Express2,202,618−16.8%
Akasa Air880,600+7.4%
Emirates549,376+0.6%
SpiceJet379,898−18.7%
Etihad Airways325,346−1.8%
Singapore Airlines222,084−1.8%
Qatar Airways211,246+3.5%
Air Arabia166,090−6.3%

What are the busiest domestic flight routes in India?

Mumbai (BOM) to Delhi (DEL) remains the busiest domestic route in India with 664,600 seats, an increase of 17% vs last year. Bengaluru (BLR) to Delhi (DEL) remains the second busiest domestic routes with 421,900 seats, although capacity is down by 1% vs July 25.

Capacity on Kolkata - Delhi grew fastest, up by 15% year on year.

Capacity decreased by 14% on the Bengaluru-Mumbai (BLR-BOM) route to 324k seats and by 13% on the Delhi-Chennai (DEL-MAA) route to 186k seats.

Route 1
BOM→DEL
Mumbai → Delhi
664,600 seats
+17.2%
Route 2
BLR→DEL
Bengaluru → Delhi
421,900 seats
−0.9%
Route 3
BLR→BOM
Bengaluru → Mumbai
324,400 seats
−14.5%
Route 4
CCU→DEL
Kolkata → Delhi
289,100 seats
+15.1%
Route 5
DEL→PNQ
Delhi → Pune
271,400 seats
+3.6%
Route 6
DEL→HYD
Delhi → Hyderabad
269,900 seats
−2.6%
Route 7
BLR→PNQ
Bengaluru → Pune
195,100 seats
+10.3%
Route 8
AMD→DEL
Ahmedabad → Delhi
194,400 seats
−7.4%
Route 9
BOM→MAA
Mumbai → Chennai
193,500 seats
−8.5%
Route 10
DEL→MAA
Delhi → Chennai
186,100 seats
−13.2%

Source: OAG · July 2026 scheduled capacity

Which Indian state has the most flights?

Delhi is the busiest state in India with 3.6 million seats, which is a 20.1% share of India's total market.

Maharashtra is second busiest state with 3.5 m seats, 19.5% share of the Indian market.

Capacity has contracted most again in Kerala, by 27%, followed by Goa, Tamil Nadu and Telangana by 14.9%, 14.2% and 12.5% respectively vs July 25. These markets continue to be impacted by a drop in migrant worker traffic to the Middle East.

Domestic & international departing seats · July 2026

Top 10 states by seat capacity

Positive YoY Negative YoY
Source: OAG · July 2026 scheduled capacity · hover a state to see details

States adding most capacity — July 2026 vs July 2025

Delhi +5.0% (+173,943 seats) · Maharashtra +2.1% (+70,602 seats) · Assam +1.5% (+5,860 seats)

States removing most capacity — July 2026 vs July 2025

Kerala −27.1% (−286,345 seats) · Tamil Nadu −14.2% (−213,853 seats) · Telangana −12.5% (−185,109 seats) · Goa −14.9% (−71,405 seats)

Where do Indian airlines fly internationally?

United Arab Emirates remains the busiest international market from India, despite a 6% reduction in capacity to 1.1m seats. The UAE still represents 14% of the market.

Saudi Arabia is the next busiest international country, with 4% market share and 308k seats.

Capacity reduced by 29% in Thailand to 218k seats, taking it from second to fifth busiest international destination.

Capacity also reduced to Malaysia and to Singapore, by 21% and 11%.

Capacity increased by 27% to 218k seats to the UK, making it the fourth busiest market.

Seats vs YoY change · July 2026 · bubble size = volume

Top 10 international destination markets

Bubble size = seat volume · hover for exact figures

Source: OAG · July 2026 scheduled capacity

Mumbai (BOM) to Dubai (DXB) remains the busiest international route from India with 215k seats, despite capacity reducing again by 7% vs July 25.

Capacity on the Mumbai (BOM) to Heathrow ((LHR) and Delhi (DEL) to London Heathrow (LHR) route and increased by 23% and 19% respectively vs July 25, as airlines redirect capacity from the Middle East.

Capacity on Delhi to Kathmandu (DEL-KTM) route reduced by 19% reduction to 91k seats.

India aviation: frequently asked questions

IndiGo is the largest airline in India in July 2026 with 11.58 million seats, representing 51% of the total market — a slight decline of 0.3% vs July 2025. Air India is second with 2.77 million seats (12% share), with capacity down 19.2% year on year. Akasa Air is the fastest-growing carrier in the top 10 at +7.4% to 880,600 seats. Source: OAG scheduled capacity data, July 2026.
Delhi Indira Gandhi International (DEL) is the busiest airport in India in July 2026 with 2.60 million seats, up 6.5% vs July 2025. Mumbai (BOM) is second with 1.60 million seats, Bengaluru (BLR) third with 1.56 million. Navi Mumbai International, which opened in December 2025, ranks 10th with 271,833 seats in its eighth month of operation. Source: OAG scheduled capacity data, July 2026.
The Mumbai to Delhi (BOM-DEL) route is the busiest domestic route in India in July 2026 with 664,600 seats, up 17.2% vs July 2025. Bengaluru to Delhi is second with 421,900 seats (−0.9%). Kolkata to Delhi grew fastest in the top 10, up 15.1% to 289,100 seats. Source: OAG scheduled capacity data, July 2026.
Total Indian seat capacity in July 2026 is 22.5 million seats, down 4.7% vs July 2025. Domestic capacity fell 4.6% to 14.9 million seats, while international capacity fell 4.8% to 7.6 million seats. Low cost carriers hold 70% of the market with 15.8 million seats (−3.2%). Source: OAG scheduled capacity data, July 2026.
Delhi is the busiest state in India in July 2026 with 3.62 million seats, a 20.1% share of India's total market (+5.0% YoY). Maharashtra is second with 3.51 million seats (+2.1%). Kerala recorded the steepest decline at −27.1%, followed by Goa (−14.9%), Tamil Nadu (−14.2%), and Telangana (−12.5%) — all states heavily exposed to Middle East route reductions. Source: OAG scheduled capacity data, July 2026.

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.

Download this month's data

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?

  • Domestic capacity accounts for 68% of all seats this month, with international making up the remaining 32%. 
  • Overall capacity increased by 5.3%, with international capacity increasing by 9.6% and domestic capacity increasing by 3.4%.
  • Low cost airlines dominate the Indian market holding 69% of capacity with 17m seats, an 1.2% increase vs June 25.
  • Full service capacity is 7.8million seats, having increased by 15.9% 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) continues to operate the majority share of capacity from India with 53% share of the market. IndiGo's capacity in June 26 is 12.3m seats, a 1% increase compared to last year.
  • Air India (AI) is the second biggest airline in India with 2.8 million seats, a 12% market share. Air India (AI) capacity contracted again by 27% (1m fewer seats) in June 26 compared to last year.
  • Air India Express (IX) also reduced capacity by 17% vs June 25, 463k fewer seats. Combined, the Air India group carriers operate 22% of capacity.
  • Akasa Air increased capacity by the fastest rate 12% vs June 25 to 916k seats (97k additional seats).

Top 10 busiest airports in India by domestic departing seats

 

Which is the busiest airport in India?

  • Delhi (DEL) is India's busiest airport for domestic flights with 2.8 million seats in June 26, an increase of 9% vs last year.
  • Mumbai (BOM) and Bengaluru (BLR) airports are joint second busiest airports, with 1.7m seats each in June 26.
  • Domestic capacity continued to fall in Hyderabad again this month, by 19% vs last year.  Chennai also saw a big reduction with domestic capacity declining by 17%.
  • Navi Mumbai International (NMI), Mumbai's new airport which began operations in December 25, is 10th busiest domestic airport  in June 26.

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

Which is India's busiest state for air travel?

  • Delhi is the busiest state in India with 3.8 million seats,  20% share of India's total market.
  • Maharashtra is second busiest state with 3.7 m seats, 19% share of the Indian market.
  • Capacity has contracted most again in Kerala, by 36%, followed by Goa, Telangana and Tamil Nadu by 19.4%, 16.4% and 15.6% respectively vs June 25.

India's top ten country markets

Which is India's biggest country market?

  • United Arab Emirates remains the busiest international market from India, despite a 15% reduction in capacity to just under 1m seats. UAE routes still represent 27% of the market.
  • The next busiest international country, Thailand, reduced capacity by 10% to 266k seats (7% market share).
  • Capacity reduced across Middle East destinations but also to Singapore, by 12% to 249k seats.
  • Capacity increased by 19% to 213k seats to the UK, making it the fifth busiest market.

Top 10 domestic routes in India

Where do flights within India go?

  • Mumbai (BOM) to Delhi (DEL) remains the busiest domestic route in India with 658,000 seats, an increase of 9% vs last year.
  • Bengaluru (BLR) to Delhi (DEL) remains the second busiest domestic routes with 431,100 seats, increasing capacity by 1% vs June 25.
  • The largest percentage increase in capacity was on the route Delhi - Srinagar  (DEL-SXR), adding 35% more seats to 208k. It is the ninth busiest domestic route in India this month.
  • Capacity decreased by 15% on the Bengaluru-Hyderabad (BLR-HYD) route to 210k seats  and by 11% on the Ahmedabad-Delhi (AMD-DEL) route to 208k seats.
Indian aviation market data | Download now

India's top ten international routes

Where do flights from India go?

  • Mumbai (BOM) to Dubai (DXB) remains the busiest international route from India with 211k seats, despite capacity reducing again by 10% vs June 25.
  • Capacity on the Delhi (DEL) to London Heathrow (LHR) route and the Mumbai (BOM)  to Heathrow ((LHR) increased by 15% and 12% respectively vs June 25, as airlines redirect capacity from the Middle East.
  • Capacity on the Abu Dhabi to Mumbai (AUH-BOM) route reduced by 18% down to 103k seats.

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