India's Domestic Air Traffic Rises 1.44% to 864.04 Lakh Passengers in H1 2026; June 2026 Sees 1.03% MoM Dip

In the first half of 2026, scheduled domestic airlines experienced a slight increase in passenger traffic. From January to June 2026, domestic carriers transported 864.04 lakh passengers, reflecting a 1.44% growth compared to 851.74 lakh passengers during the same period in the previous year. However, June 2026 saw a month-on-month (MoM) decline of -1.03% in passenger traffic. 

Monthly Market Share Distributions 

IndiGo maintained its dominant position in the domestic market, concluding June 2026 with a 66.3% market share by flying 89.20 lakh passengers. The Air India Group secured the second-largest position with a 23.9% market share, carrying 32.22 lakh passengers.  

Akasa Air held a stable 6.4% market share with 8.61 lakh passengers, while SpiceJet captured 1.9% with 2.63 lakh passengers. Smaller regional operators such as Star Air, Fly91, Alliance Air, and Indiaone Air shared the remaining market volume. 

On-Time Performance and Delay Factors 

Flight punctuality varied significantly among carriers across 10 major domestic airports. IndiGo achieved the highest On-Time Performance (OTP) at 89.4%, followed by the Air India Group at 85.9% and Akasa Air at 82.7%.  

SpiceJet recorded the lowest punctuality with an OTP of 33.5%. Analysis revealed that 69% of delays were due to "Reactionary" operational knock-on effects, surpassing technical issues (6%), air traffic control limits (5%), and weather disruptions (4%). 

Operational Vulnerabilities: Cancellations and Long Delays 

The industry-wide flight cancellation rate averaged 0.63% in June 2026. Indiaone Air had the highest cancellation rate at 16.43%, followed by SpiceJet at 6.23% and Alliance Air at 6.00%. Technical faults (39.6%) and operational bottlenecks (36.3%) were the main causes of cancellations.  

Additionally, 17.31% of SpiceJet flights experienced severe delays over 2 hours, compared to an industry average of 1.18%. 

Passenger Grievances and Industry Redressal 

In June 2026, domestic airlines received 2,568 passenger complaints, equating to approximately 1.91 complaints per 10,000 passengers.  

Alliance Air had a high grievance rate of 68.6 complaints per 10,000 passengers, while IndiGo maintained a low rate of 1.0.  

Baggage issues accounted for 27.8% of complaints, with flight problems at 24.3%. Despite the volume, airlines achieved a 100% complaint redressal rate, resolving all 2,568 cases. 

Read More: Poonawalla Fincorp Q1 FY27 Business Update: PAT Rises 21% QoQ, AUM Reaches ₹67,054 Crore! 

Conclusion 

In H1 2026, domestic airlines transported 864.04 lakh passengers, a 1.44% increase from the previous year. IndiGo led with a 66.3% market share. Flight punctuality varied, with IndiGo at 89.4% OTP and SpiceJet at 33.5%. The industry faced a 0.63% cancellation rate, with Indiaone Air at 16.43%. 

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