New Delhi: India’s domestic aviation sector recorded a sharp decline in passenger traffic in August 2026, with airlines carrying 121.26 lakh passengers, down 6.34 per cent compared with the same month last year.
According to data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, domestic airlines had carried 129.47 lakh passengers in August 2025. The latest figures mark a significant year on year decline in passenger movement.
Between January and August 2026, Indian airlines carried 1,105.30 lakh passengers, compared with 1,107.26 lakh during the corresponding period in 2025. This represents a marginal annual decline of 0.18 per cent.
IndiGo continued to hold the largest share of the domestic aviation market in August, but its share fell to 65 per cent from 67.4 per cent in July. This represents a sequential decline of 2.4 percentage points.
Air India Group, meanwhile, recorded a notable increase in its market share. Its share rose to 26.7 per cent in August from the previous month, marking a gain of 2.7 percentage points.
Akasa Air maintained its market share at 5.5 per cent during August, unchanged from July.
SpiceJet’s market share also declined during the month, falling to 1.2 per cent from 1.6 per cent in July as the airline continues to face operational challenges.
In terms of on time performance at the country’s 10 major airports, IndiGo recorded the highest performance at 91.5 per cent. Akasa Air followed with 90.5 per cent, while Air India Group recorded an on time performance of 83.9 per cent.
The overall cancellation rate among scheduled domestic airlines stood at 1.39 per cent during August, highlighting continued operational pressure across parts of the sector.
