India’s July air passenger traffic falls 2.9%, first year-on-year dip in months

Air India Group’s share of passengers stood at 26.2 per cent.
| Photo Credit:
REUTERS

India’s domestic air passenger traffic recorded its first year-on-year (y-o-y) decline in several months, slipping 2.94 per cent in July 2025.

Notably, the fall reflected the seasonal slowdown in travel demand.

According to data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), scheduled domestic airlines ferried 126.05 lakh (1.26 crore) passengers in July, compared to 129.87 lakh (1.30 crore) in the same month last year.

On a sequential basis, July’s tally was lower by 7.33 per cent than June’s 136.04 lakh (1.36 crore).

“Passengers carried by domestic airlines during January–July 2025 were 977.79 lakh (9.77 crore) as against 923.35 lakh (9.23 crore) during the corresponding period of the previous year, thereby registering an annual growth of 5.9 per cent and a monthly decline of 2.94 per cent,” the DGCA said in its monthly report.

IndiGo’s lead in share

In terms of market share, IndiGo maintained its dominance, by carrying 82.15 lakh (0.82 crore) passengers in July to command a 65.2 per cent market share.

Besides, Air India Group, which includes Air India and Air India Express, flew 33.08 lakh (0.33 crore) passengers, translating into a 26.2 per cent share.

The Air India Group was followed by Akasa Air, which ferried 6.98 lakh (0.07 crore) passengers translating into a 5.5 per cent share, while SpiceJet carried 2.46 lakh (0.02 crore) passengers, cornering 2 per cent of the market.

Furthermore, Star Air ferried 0.64 lakh passengers (0.006 crore), followed by Alliance Air 0.46 lakh (0.005 crore), Fly91 0.25 lakh (0.003 crore), IndiaOne Air 0.02 lakh (0.0002 crore), and Fly Big 0.01 lakh (0.0001 crore).

In the passenger load factors segment, Akasa Air led the industry with 90.2 per cent (load factor), followed by IndiGo at 84.1 per cent and SpiceJet at 84.2 per cent.

Published on August 28, 2025