As India’s domestic aviation industry navigates service disruptions and fluctuating travel demand, data presented in Parliament offers a detailed look at how airlines compensated affected passengers in December 2025 and how carriers performed financially over the last two fiscal years.

In a response to an unstarred question in the Rajya Sabha, the Ministry of Civil Aviation shared operator-wise compensation and facilitation for December 2025.

Among scheduled Indian airlines, IndiGo incurred the largest compensation outlay, spending approximately ₹2,268 lakh in December 2025. This comparatively high figure aligns with its status as the largest domestic carrier in terms of market share and footprint.

Other carriers reported smaller compensation payments during the month. Air India Group spent ₹74.61 lakh, while Akasa Air and SpiceJet spent ₹21.06 lakh and ₹40.09 lakh respectively, on passenger facilitation and compensation.

The Ministry clarified that all refunds and compensation were to be disbursed strictly in accordance with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR), Section 3, Series M, Part II and Part IV. Payments could be made either in cash, through bank transfer, or in the form of travel vouchers, subject to passenger consent.

Passenger traffic data for December also showed a slight moderation in travel demand. While 149 lakh domestic passengers were carried in December 2024, provisional figures for December 2025 show 143 lakh passengers, a modest year-on-year decline of around 4 per cent.

Turning to financial performance, scheduled airlines’ combined operating revenue increased from ₹1.48 lakh crore in FY24 to ₹1.70 lakh crore in FY25. Despite this revenue growth, total operating profits shrank markedly, from about ₹5,668 crore to ₹3,337 crore.

Net results after extraordinary items showed a significant deterioration. Airlines collectively posted net losses of nearly ₹5,290 crore in FY25, compared with a loss of ₹924 crore in the previous year.

IndiGo remained profitable, though its bottom line contracted from about ₹8,167 crore to ₹7,253 crore. Air India continued to register losses, though narrower than the previous year. Emerging carriers such as Akasa Air saw their net loss widen from roughly ₹1,670 crore to ₹1,986 crore.

Published on February 10, 2026