For February 2026, domestic air passenger traffic was estimated1 at 142.5 lakh, 1.5% higher than 140.4 lakh in February 2025 but 6.5% lower than 152.5 lakh in January 2026. The airlines’ capacity deployment in February 2026 was 2.9% lower than February 2025 and 8.8% lower than January 2026. For 11M FY2026 (April-February 2026), domestic air passenger traffic stood at 1,532.4 lakh, reflecting a year[1]on-year (YoY) growth of 1.6%. For January 2026, international air passenger traffic for Indian carriers was 34.0 lakh, indicating a YoY growth of 6.4% and a sequential growth of 3.8%. For 10M FY2026 (April-January 2026), international air passenger traffic for Indian carriers stood at 303.0 lakh, a YoY growth of 8.5%.

• Negative outlook on the Indian aviation industry – ICRA has changed its outlook on the Indian aviation industry to Negative from Stable owing to disruptions in the availability of international airspace starting February 28, 2026, following escalation of the geopolitical conflict in West Asia, coupled with a sharp depreciation of the INR against the USD and expected hardening of aviation turbine fuel prices,. ICRA expects the domestic air passenger traffic growth in FY2026 to be in the range of 0-3% on a YoY basis and international air passenger traffic growth for Indian carriers to be in the range of 7-9%.
• TF prices in March 2026 were higher by around 5.7% on a sequential basis, impacted by the West Asian conflict – The yield movement will remain monitorable due to its linkage with aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices and the INR to USD exchange rate, both of which have a significant bearing on airlines’ cost structures.