For August 2025, domestic air passenger traffic was estimated at 131.7 lakh, 0.3% higher than 131.3 lakh in August 2024 and 4.5% higher than 126.1 lakh in July 2025. The airlines’ capacity deployment in August 2025 was 5.8% lower than August 2024 and largely flattish compared to July 2025. For 5M FY2026 (April-August 2025), domestic air passenger traffic was 677.5 lakh, reflecting a YoY growth of 2.2%.

In July 2025, international passenger traffic for Indian carriers stood at 29.6 lakh, a YoY growth of 6.7% and a sequential increase of 6.8%. This growth was driven by a recovery in air travel, following a YoY growth of only 1.9% in June 2025, which had been adversely impacted by geopolitical tensions and weakened consumer sentiments due to the aircraft mishap. For 4M FY2026 (April-July 2025), international passenger traffic for Indian carriers stood at 117.3 lakh, a YoY growth of 10.2%.

Stable outlook on Indian aviation industry – ICRA’s outlook on the Indian aviation industry is Stable, driven by expectations of modest growth in domestic air passenger traffic in FY2026. While the overall passenger traffic has so far held steady, ongoing geopolitical and operational headwinds warrant close monitoring for potential downside risks. ICRA forecasts the domestic air passenger traffic growth at 4-6% in FY2026, lower than its previous expectations of 7-10%. This is attributed to cross-border escalations that led to flight disruptions and cancellations, as well as travel hesitancy following the aircraft accident tragedy.