Passengers carried by domestic airlines show 1.91% YoY growth in Jan-May 2026
New Delhi, July 7
India's scheduled domestic airlines carried 729.40 lakh passengers during January to May 2026, registering a year-on-year growth of 1.91 per cent over 715.70 lakh in the same period last year. In May alone, carriers transported 153.90 lakh passengers, a robust 9.49 per cent month-on-month rise.
According to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, IndiGo maintained its commanding position with a 64.9 per cent market share in May, carrying 99.91 lakh passengers. The Air India Group followed at 25.6 per cent (39.33 lakh passengers) while Akasa Air secured 5.8 per cent (8.90 lakh). SpiceJet, Star Air, Fly91, Alliance Air and Indiaone Air accounted for the remaining share.
Airlines operated with impressive efficiency in May. Akasa Air posted the highest passenger load factor at 92.5 per cent, followed by SpiceJet at 87.4 per cent, IndiGo at 86.4per cent, and Air India Group at 83.5 per cent. Alliance Air stood at 61.2 per cent and Indiaone Air at 53.5 per cent, as per the MoCA report.
The overall cancellation rate remained low at 0.55per cent. Akasa Air recorded the lowest rate at 0.14 per cent while Indiaone Air had the highest at 5.58 per cent. Technical issues caused 45.1 per cent of cancellations, followed by operational reasons at 26.6 per cent and weather at 15.3 per cent.
On-time performance at ten major airports, Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Cochin, Guwahati and Lucknow showed wide variation. IndiGo achieved the best OTP among major carriers at 82.8 per cent while SpiceJet lagged significantly at 26.5 per cent. Akasa Air recorded 78.3 per cent and Air India Group 74.5 per cent.
Among airports, Chennai delivered the highest punctuality at 92.2 per cent, followed by Kolkata at 84.7 per cent and Hyderabad at 84.4 per cent, and Mumbai recorded the lowest at 70.5 per cent, MoCA said in its report.
Only 1.56 per cent of flights were delayed by more than two hours industry-wide. SpiceJet reported a higher rate of 15.75per cent in this category.
Airlines received 3080 passenger complaints in May, approximately 2 complaints per 10000 passengers carried. Baggage issues 28.7 per cent and flight problems 26.4 per cent remained the top reasons, followed by refunds 19 per cent.
As per the report, 99.8 per cent of complaints (3074) were redressed. IndiGo had the lowest complaint rate among major carriers at 1.0 per cent per 10000 passengers, while Alliance Air recorded a significantly higher rate of 74.9 per 10000.
Airlines complied with regulatory requirements on denied boarding, cancellations, and delays. In total, 900 passengers were affected by denied boarding, 63723 by cancellations and 177550 by significant delays. Carriers spent over Rs 593 lakh on refunds, rebookings, refreshments, accommodation and alternate flights.
The May 2026 data reflects steady demand and high aircraft utilisation in India's domestic aviation sector. While punctuality remains an area of concern for some operators, the low cancellation rate and high redressal percentage indicate improving operational discipline and passenger protection standards.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Flying in India is finally getting better. I remember when cancellations were a nightmare. Now 0.55% is impressive! And 99.8% complaints redressed? That's world-class. But we still need more airports in smaller towns - tier 2 and 3 cities deserve connectivity too. 🛫🇮🇳
The OTP numbers are shocking! SpiceJet at 26.5% on-time? That's almost 3 out of 4 flights delayed! Come on, SpiceJet - you can do better. Meanwhile, Chennai at 92.2% punctuality shows it's possible when operators take it seriously.
Baggage issues still top the complaint list at 28.7%! That's the basic service airlines should get right. I've had my baggage delayed twice in the last year. More accountability needed from airlines. Otherwise, the overall numbers look positive - growth is growth after all. 😀
Interesting to see Alliance Air with 74.9 complaints per 10,000 passengers - that's 75 times worse than IndiGo! But it's a smaller regional carrier, still. Need to bring them up to par. High aircraft utilisation is good for economy but let's not compromise safety for growth.
The ₹593 lakh spent on refunds and other compensations shows that while airlines are complying, they still cause a lot of disruption to passengers' lives. Almost 1.8 lakh people affected by delays and 63,000+ by cancellations - that's a lot of inconvenience. Regulation is important, but airlines need to be more proactive in preventing these issues.
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.