Research Report

Domestic air passenger traffic stood at 118.2 lakh in September 2026, 6.5% lower than 126.4 lakh in September 2025, and declined by 2.5% sequentially from 121.3 lakh in August 2026. The airlines’ capacity deployment in September 2026 was 8.1% lower than in September 2025 and 4.5% lower than in August 2026. Amid a sluggish demand environment, domestic carriers’ passenger load factor (PLF) remained resilient at 81.1% in September 2026, compared with 81.4% in September 2025 and 79.0% in August 2026 due to reduced capacity deployment. 

• Domestic air passenger traffic in H1 FY2027 (April-September 2026) stood at 786.1 lakh, reflecting a year-on-year (YoY) decline of 1.9% following a modest growth of 1.2% in FY2026 (April 2025-March 2026) to 1,674.2 lakh. International air passenger traffic for Indian carriers grew by 3.9% to 350.0 lakh in FY2026. 
• However, it declined sharply by 19.3% YoY in H1 FY2027 (April-September 2026), primarily due to disruptions arising from the West Asia conflict, including airspace restrictions and network disruptions, while elevated aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices have resulted in an increase in airfares, further weighing on air travel demand.

Exhibit : Monthly domestic passenger traffic and PLF

Source: MoCA, DGCA, ICRA Research