NEW DELHI: The raging geopolitical tensions, particularly in West Asia, have dealt a significant blow to international travel from India, as revealed by the half-yearly financial Air Traffic Report by the Airports Authority of India (AAI). Domestic traffic, too, has suffered a slight dip.
The AAI on Wednesday released data on air passengers from April to September 2026, as well as patronage in September alone.
International passenger traffic at airports across the country has dipped by 7.1% compared with April to September 2025. Only two airports have bucked this trend: Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) and Vijayawada International Airport. Domestic passenger traffic has gone down by 1.9% in the country.
The overall dip in both domestic and international passenger traffic during the compared period stands at 2.9%. International air traffic movements, too, slid by 6.7%, while domestic flight movements dipped by 2.7%. Interestingly, freight traffic has recorded an overall double-digit growth of 11.7%, with international cargo driving its growth.
Delhi airport clocked 1,03,76,225 international flyers from April to September 2026, compared with 1,01,70,349 flyers from April to September 2025, marking a 2% increase. The new international routes introduced from here during the period have played a key role in boosting its traffic.
Of the 51 airports taken into consideration, Vijayawada airport is the only other airport to have recorded positive growth on the international front, with 24,495 flyers versus 13,639 flyers in the half-yearly periods being compared, marking a stunning 79.6% growth. It connects just two international destinations — Singapore and Sharjah. Both routes are operated thrice a week.
The US-Israel attack on Iran on February 28, 2026, and Iran's retaliation, which included attacks on airports in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Riyadh, Kuwait, Bahrain and Doha, resulted in the cancellation of multiple flights by Indian carriers there.
Airports predominantly used for travel to the Gulf region have taken a strong beating in these six months compared with their patronage during the same months in previous years: Kannur recorded 3,41,263 flyers (down by 41.8%), Kochi 24,69,789 flyers (-12.1%), Kozhikode 12,79,953 (-19.2%), Thiruvananthapuram 11,81,522 (-10.5%), Coimbatore 1,20,001 (-25.3%) and Mangaluru 3,43,244 (-10.5%).
Domestically, a total of 15,95,44,222 flyers were recorded from April to September 2026, compared with 16,26,17,040 during the same period last year.
On the domestic travel front, too, Delhi has bucked the negative trend witnessed across most airports by recording 6.2% growth over the compared period — 2,81,26,333 versus 2,64,91,445 flyers.
Other major airports have recorded negative growth in the first half of 2026-2027 compared with the first half of the previous financial year.
Hyderabad is down by 12.8%, Mumbai by 9.5%, Chennai by 11.8%, Tiruchirappalli by 21.4% and Visakhapatnam by 9.4%. Goa, Gaya, Shirdi and Ayodhya are among the airports that have recorded a reduction in domestic passenger traffic.
Rajkot, Srinagar, Lucknow, Amritsar, Nagpur and Bagdogra are among the airports that have shown positive growth compared with their past performance.
Data released for September 2026 alone reveals a 5.9% slide in overall passenger traffic compared with September 2025 — 3,00,99,806 versus 3,19,84,177.
International travel slid by 4.2% in September this year, with 61,03,919 flyers taking to the skies, compared with 63,71,906 in September 2025.