India aviation market briefing
Monthly airline data updates for the Indian market
November 2026
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How much airline capacity does India have in 2026?
Monthly scheduled capacity: November 2025 vs November 2026
Are low cost carriers dominating Indian aviation?
Low cost airlines dominate the Indian market holding 71% of capacity with 18.1m seats, a 0.6% reduction vs November 25.
Full service capacity is 7.3 million seats, having decreased by 7.1% 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 2.9 million seats in November 26, a reduction of 3% vs last year.
Mumbai (BOM) and Bengaluru (BLR) airports are a close second and third busiest airports, with 1.85m and 1.84m seats respectively in November 26, despite a decline in capacity of 1% for both.
| No | Code | Airport | Seats | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | DEL | Delhi | 2.93m | −3.4% |
| 2. | BOM | Mumbai | 1.85m | −1.0% |
| 3. | BLR | Bengaluru | 1.84m | −1.3% |
| 4. | HYD | Hyderabad | 1.15m | −12.1% |
| 5. | CCU | Kolkata | 0.94m | −4.6% |
| 6. | MAA | Chennai | 0.80m | −11.7% |
| 7. | AMD | Ahmedabad | 0.55m | −7.7% |
| 8. | PNQ | Pune | 0.55m | +2.6% |
| 9. | GAU | Guwahati | 0.32m | −6.0% |
| 10. | GOI | Goa | 0.31m | −1.8% |
Source: OAG · November 2026 · hover chart or click a table row to cross-highlight
Capacity only increased at one of the Top 10 airports again this month, Pune (3%) vs November 25.
Domestic capacity contracted at the fastest rate in Hyderabad and Chennai this month, both by 12% 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 November 26 is 12.8m seats, despite a capacity reduction of 1.3% (167,600 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 12.8% (483k fewer seats) in November 26 compared to last year.
Air India Express (IX) is third largest airline with 2.7m seats and also reduced capacity, by 1.1% vs November 25.
SpiceJet reduced capacity at the fastest rate of 28.8% vs last year, 250k few seats.
Akasa Air, Emirates and Singapore Airlines were the only airlines to increase capacity by 31.9%; 1.3% and 2.1% respectively vs November 25.
Seat capacity by airline
| Airline | Seats | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| IndiGo | 12,823,220 | −1.3% |
| Air India | 3,276,701 | −12.8% |
| Air India Express | 2,654,463 | −1.1% |
| Akasa Air | 1,114,070 | +31.9% |
| SpiceJet | 616,866 | −28.8% |
| Emirates | 539,778 | +1.3% |
| Etihad Airways | 322,296 | −0.1% |
| Singapore Airlines | 240,192 | +2.1% |
| Qatar Airways | 201,128 | −2.9% |
| Air Arabia | 170,754 | −1.1% |
What are the busiest domestic flight routes in India?
Mumbai (BOM) to Delhi (DEL) remains the busiest domestic route in India with 675,300 seats, an increase of 2% vs last year.
Bengaluru (BLR) to Delhi (DEL) remains the second busiest domestic routes with 451,800 seats, despite a contraction in capacity of 13% vs November 25.
Capacity on the route Ahmedabad - Delhi (AMD-DEL) increased at the fastest rate, adding 10% more seats to 252k seats.
Capacity decreased by 16% on the Mumbai-Chennai (BOM-MAA) route to 202k seats and by 13% on the Bengaluru-Delhi route (BLR-DEL) to 452k seats.
Source: OAG · November 2026 scheduled capacity
Which Indian state has the most flights?
Delhi is the busiest state in India with 4.1 million seats, 19.8% share of India's total market.
Maharashtra is second busiest state with 3.8 m seats, 18.7% share of the Indian market. Capacity in Maharashtra increased by 6.9% vs last year.
Capacity has contracted most again in Kerala, by 24.7%, followed by Rajasthan by 13.7% vs November 25.
Top 10 states by seat capacity
States adding most capacity — November 2026 vs November 2025
Maharashtra +6.9% (+246,451 seats)
States removing most capacity — November 2026 vs November 2025
Kerala −24.7% (−247,533 seats) · Rajasthan −13.7% (−81,582 seats) · Telangana −10.8% (−172,298 seats) · Goa −7.5% (−45,783 seats)
Where do Indian airlines fly internationally?
United Arab Emirates remains the busiest international market from India with 1.1m seats and represents 28% of the total international market.
Thailand is the second busiest international country, despite a reduction of 11% to 315k seats representing 8% market share.
Capacity reduced by 15% to/from Malaysia to 161k seats, followed by Kuwait and Saudi Arabia where it reduced by 11% and 8% respectively.
Following months of growth to the UK, capacity also reduced here by 8% to 197k but remained the sixth busiest market.
Capacity to Italy increased by 304% to 61k seats in November 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 228k seats, constant vs Nov 25.
Capacity on the Bengaluru to Dubai route (BLR-DXB) increased at the fastest rate of 16% to 98.5k seats.
Capacity on Mumbai to London Heathrow route (BOM-LHR) reduced by 19% to 121k seats. Passenger and flight capacity on the Mumbai to London route is facing downward pressure due to a unilateral capacity and slot cut at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. The airport authority plans to close Terminal 1 for redevelopment from April and move 265 of Terminal 2's 770 weekly international departure slots to Navi Mumbai.
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 2.5%, with international capacity reducing by 0.8% and domestic capacity reducing by 3.3%.