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?

• Domestic capacity accounts for 71% of all seats this month, with international capacity making up the remaining 29%.
• Overall capacity decreased by 0.1%, with international capacity decreasing by 10.5% and domestic capacity increasing by 5.1%. This continues to reflect the reduction in the major Middle Eastern markets to/from India.
• Low-cost airlines dominate the Indian market, holding 71% of capacity with 18.3m seats, an 3.2% increase vs May 2025.
• Full service capacity is 7.4 million seats, having reduced by 6.9% 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) remains the largest carrier in India, with just over half of the market (52%). In May 2026, IndiGo operates 13.4 million seats, a 5% increase year on year.
• Air India (AI) is the second-largest airline in India, with 3.6 million seats and a 14% share of the market. Its capacity declined again in May 2026, down 10% year on year (405,000 fewer seats).
• Air India Express (IX) recorded the fastest capacity reduction, down 14% versus May 2025, with 392,000 fewer seats following restrictions on services to the Middle East. 
• Akasa Air recorded the fastest capacity growth, up 17% versus May 2025 to 971,000 seats (an additional 144,000 seats).

Top 10 busiest airports in India by domestic departing seats

Which is the busiest airport in India?

• Delhi (DEL) is India's busiest airport for domestic flights with 3.1 million seats in May 2026, an increase of 11% vs last year.
• Bengaluru (BLR) and Mumbai (BOM) are jointly the second-busiest domestic airports, each handling 1.98 million seats in May 2026.
• Hyderabad again recorded the fastest decline in domestic capacity this month, down 9% compared with last year.
• Navi Mumbai International (NMI), Mumbai’s new airport which opened in December 2025, is again the 9th busiest domestic airport in May 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 in India with 4.2 million seats, 20% share of India's total market.
• Maharashtra is the second busiest state with 4m seats, 19% share of the market.
• Capacity has fallen the most in Kerala again, down 35%, followed by Telangana and Goa, which each have 9.2% fewer seats than in May 2025. This is largely driven by reduced capacity to the Middle East, a key market for this region.

Top 10 domestic routes in India

Where do flights within India go?

• Mumbai (BOM) to Delhi (DEL) remains India’s busiest domestic route, offering 736,500 seats in May 2026, a 15% increase year on year.
• Bengaluru (BLR) to Delhi (DEL) remains India’s second busiest domestic route, with 513,700 seats in May 2026, a 13% increase year on year.
• The strongest percentage growth in capacity was on the Ahmedabad–Mumbai (AMD–BOM) route, up 27% to 247,000 seats. This makes it the seventh-busiest domestic route in India this month.
• Capacity on the Delhi (DEL) to Chennai (MAA) route fell by 9% to 229,000 seats, moving it from the 9th to the 10th busiest domestic route in India.
  

More from OAG