Domestic air traffic saw modest growth in the first quarter of 2026, even as flight delays affected over 1.21 lakh passengers in March, according to data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Wednesday.
Indian airlines carried 4.37 crore passengers on domestic routes between January and March 2026, up slightly from 4.31 crore in the same period last year, an annual growth of 1.23 per cent. However, on a monthly basis, traffic declined marginally by 0.87 per cent.
In March alone, passenger traffic rose to 1.44 crore from 1.41 crore in February, but remained below the 1.45 crore recorded in March 2025.
Market share trends showed IndiGo strengthening its dominance, increasing its share to 63.3 per cent in March from 63.1 per cent in February. The Air India Group saw its share fall to 26.2 per cent from 27 per cent. Akasa Air and Alliance Air recorded gains, with shares rising to 5.4 per cent and 0.6 per cent, respectively. Meanwhile, SpiceJet’s share declined to 3.8 per cent, and Fly91 remained unchanged at 0.2 per cent.
"Passengers carried by domestic airlines during January - March 2026 were 437.31 lakhs as against 431.98 lakhs during the corresponding period of the previous year, thereby registering an annual growth of 1.23 per cent and a monthly growth of -0.87 per cent," DGCA said in its monthly report.
On operational performance, IndiGo led in on-time performance (OTP) at 88.7 per cent, followed by Akasa Air (82.6 per cent), Air India Group (78 per cent), Alliance Air (62.9 per cent) and SpiceJet (43 per cent). OTP was measured across ten major airports, including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad.
Delays continued to impact passengers, with 0.92 per cent of flights in March running over two hours late. Airlines spent Rs 3.19 crore to assist more than 1.21 lakh passengers affected by delays. Additionally, Rs 93.49 lakh was spent on compensation and facilities for 66,784 passengers impacted by cancellations.
A total of 951 passengers were denied boarding during the month, with airlines paying Rs 97.42 lakh in compensation and support.
For the financial year 2025–26, IndiGo recorded the highest OTP for ten months, including March, despite facing significant operational disruptions and cancellations in December 2025.
(With inputs from PTI)