Bengaluru airport has seen expansion with opening of second runway in 2019 and second terminal in 2022 | Photo Credit: MURALI KUMAR K

 Bengaluru airport has overtaken Mumbai to become the second busiest airport for domestic passenger traffic, Airport Authority of India’s April data shows.

While capacity expansion at Bengaluru airport has enabled it to add more flights, Mumbai lost its second rank in April with the shifting of traffic to Navi Mumbai airport.

Mumbai airport had previously dropped behind Bengaluru during Covid-19 period that saw sharp restrictions on travel.

On overall basis, however, Mumbai airport leads Bengaluru due to a higher share of international traffic. 

Domestic Traffic

Domestic passenger traffic at Mumbai airport fell 12.1 per cent in April on a year on year basis to 2.89 million. Domestic aircraft movements in Mumbai were 3.3 per cent lower in April over the same period last year.

Navi Mumbai airport which began operations last December has seen a 3x growth in domestic flights in summer schedule. IndiGo tweaked its network shifting some flights from Mumbai to Navi Mumbai. Destinations like Ayodhya, Agra, Hindon, Jabalpur and Tirupati which were previously served from Mumbai are now served only from Navi Mumbai 

Last month Navi Mumbai handled 5.24 lakh passengers which was 2.3x growth over March. It is now the tenth busiest airport for domestic traffic.

Capacity Constraints

In April, Bengaluru airport handled 3.17 million domestic passengers, a slight decline of 0.2 per cent over same period last year.

“Covid-19 pandemic period was exceptional. If you exclude that, Bengaluru airport has beaten Mumbai in domestic traffic for the first time ,” said an industry analyst.

While Mumbai airport suffers from capacity constraints, Bengaluru has seen expansion with opening of second runway in 2019 and second terminal in 2022. In FY25 and FY26, Bengaluru airport witnessed faster growth in domestic traffic than Delhi and Mumbai. 

“Both Air India group and IndiGo have made Bengaluru their third hub. Infact, Bengaluru is IndiGo’s second biggest hub after Delhi,” the analyst added.

Published on May 28, 2026