India’s domestic aviation market witnessed consistent growth in the first half of 2026, with airlines transporting 864.04 lakh passengers between January and June, marking a 1.44% increase compared to the previous year. In contrast, passenger movement slightly decreased in June to 134.64 lakh passengers from 136.04 lakh in May, indicating a mild slowdown in travel demand as the year progressed.
IndiGo maintained its lead in India’s domestic aviation sector from January to June, carrying 555.83 lakh passengers and holding a significant market share of 64.3%. The Air India Group secured the second position, ferrying 221.67 lakh passengers with a market share of 25.7%. Together, these two airline groups managed over 90% of the total domestic passenger traffic during the six-month period.
Among other carriers, Akasa Air captured a 5.5% market share by transporting 47.42 lakh passengers, while SpiceJet accounted for 3.3% of the market by flying 28.10 lakh passengers. Regional carriers like Star Air and Alliance Air held smaller market shares, carrying 5.03 lakh and 3.47 lakh passengers, respectively.
Fly91 served 2.41 lakh passengers, IndiaOne Air flew around 0.10 lakh passengers, and the ministry’s data highlighted varying capacity utilisation levels among airlines in June. Akasa Air led with a passenger load factor of 92.2%, indicating high seat occupancy, followed by SpiceJet at 87.8%. The Air India Group and IndiGo recorded load factors of 85.5% and 85.1%, respectively, while Star Air, Fly91, Alliance Air, and IndiaOne Air reported load factors ranging from 59.3% to 75%.
