New Delhi, April 29
India’s domestic air passenger traffic slipped marginally in March 2026, as airlines adopted calibrated capacity deployment and raised fares amid elevated Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) prices.
According to data released by the DGCA, scheduled domestic airlines carried around 1.44 crore passengers during March 2026, compared with nearly 1.45 crore passengers in March 2025.
On a sequential basis, passenger traffic increased from around 1.43 crore passengers in February 2026.
“Passengers carried by domestic airlines during January–March 2026 were 437.31 lakh as against 431.98 lakh during the corresponding period of the previous year, thereby registering an annual growth of 1.23 per cent,” the DGCA said in its monthly passenger traffic report.
Cautious Approach
Industry observers said airlines adopted a cautious approach to capacity deployment during the month amid elevated fuel prices and geopolitical uncertainty.
Consequently, higher ATF costs prompted several carriers to rationalise capacity across select routes while introducing fuel surcharges to offset rising operating expenditure.
Industry executives said higher fares, driven by fuel surcharges and constrained seat availability, are understood to have moderated discretionary travel demand across certain segments.
Passenger Load
Besides, the data showed that passenger load factor (PLF) softened across most airlines in March compared with February, suggesting weaker seat utilisation despite stable traffic.
Furthermore, the traffic report showed that Akasa Air recorded the highest passenger load factor during March 2026 at 90.5 per cent. It was followed by IndiGo at 83.5 per cent and the Air India Group at 82.3 per cent.
In terms of market share, airline major IndiGo retained the largest share among domestic carriers during the month under review. The airline carried 91.19 lakh passengers in March, accounting for a market share of 63.3 per cent.
Market Share
Similarly, the Air India Group — comprising Air India and Air India Express — accounted for a combined market share of 26.2 per cent during the month after carrying 37.73 lakh passengers.
Meanwhile, Akasa Air increased its market share to 5.4 per cent after carrying 7.79 lakh passengers.
Notably, SpiceJet recorded a market share of 3.8 per cent with passenger traffic of 5.41 lakh.
Additionally, Alliance Air accounted for a market share of 0.6 per cent, while Star Air maintained a 0.5 per cent share during the month.
In addition, the overall cancellation rate of scheduled domestic airlines during March 2026 stood at 0.50 per cent.
Published on April 29, 2026