{"id":1308997,"date":"2026-05-01T09:53:40","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T04:23:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/?p=1308997"},"modified":"2026-05-01T09:53:53","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T04:23:53","slug":"16-crore-indians-took-atleast-1-domestic-flight-in-fy2025-26","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/16-crore-indians-took-atleast-1-domestic-flight-in-fy2025-26\/","title":{"rendered":"16 Crore Indians Took Atleast 1 Domestic Flight In FY2025-26"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

India\u2019s domestic aviation sector recorded 1.4% year-on-year growth<\/strong> in FY 2025\u201326, with total passenger traffic reaching 1,677.4 lakh (167.74 million)<\/strong>. This is a steady but moderate increase compared to FY25, when airlines carried around 1,653.8 lakh passengers<\/strong>.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The growth aligns with estimates by ICRA, which had projected a modest expansion of 0\u20133% for the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

March Traffic Shows Slow Momentum<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The trend of moderate growth was also visible in March 2026. Domestic passenger traffic rose by just 1% year-on-year to 146.8 lakh passengers<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interestingly, airlines operated with 3% lower capacity<\/strong> compared to March 2025, yet managed to maintain strong demand. This indicates efficient capacity utilization despite operational challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

High Load Factor Signals Strong Demand<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Despite slower growth, airlines reported a high passenger load factor of 89.5%<\/strong> in March 2026, up from 86% a year earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A high load factor means flights are running nearly full, showing that demand for air travel remains strong even if overall growth has slowed. It also suggests airlines are optimizing seat capacity to maintain profitability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rising Fuel Costs Impacting Growth<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of the biggest challenges facing the aviation sector is the rise in aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fuel prices increased:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • 9.2% sequentially<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • 18.2% year-on-year<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    This surge is largely driven by global geopolitical tensions and rising crude oil prices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Higher fuel costs directly impact airline profitability and ticket pricing, which can slow down passenger growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    International Travel Shows Mixed Trends<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    While domestic traffic grew modestly, international travel showed mixed signals. In February 2026, international passenger traffic for Indian carriers stood at 28.5 lakh<\/strong>, slightly declining by 0.3% year-on-year<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    However, over a longer period (April\u2013February), international travel still recorded 7.7% growth<\/strong>, indicating underlying demand remains strong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Challenges Ahead for Aviation Sector<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    The Indian aviation industry is facing multiple headwinds:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • Rising fuel costs<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Weakening rupee<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Capacity constraints<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Global geopolitical disruptions<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      These factors have even led analysts to adopt a cautious outlook for the sector in the near term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      A Stable but Slower Growth Phase<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

      India\u2019s domestic aviation market is still growing, but the pace has clearly slowed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The focus for airlines now will be on cost management, efficiency, and maintaining high load factors<\/strong>, rather than aggressive expansion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The sector remains resilient\u2014but the easy high-growth phase may be behind for now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      India\u2019s domestic aviation sector recorded 1.4% year-on-year growth in FY 2025\u201326, with total passenger traffic reaching 1,677.4 lakh (167.74 million). This is a steady but moderate increase compared to FY25, when airlines carried around 1,653.8 lakh passengers. The growth aligns with estimates by ICRA, which had projected a modest expansion of 0\u20133% for the year. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":1309004,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[989,9801],"class_list":["post-1308997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-airlines","tag-domestic-flights"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n16 Crore Indians Took Atleast 1 Domestic Flight In FY2025-26 - Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile & Startups<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/16-crore-indians-took-atleast-1-domestic-flight-in-fy2025-26\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"16 Crore Indians Took Atleast 1 Domestic Flight In FY2025-26 - Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile & Startups\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"India\u2019s domestic aviation sector recorded 1.4% year-on-year growth in FY 2025\u201326, with total passenger traffic reaching 1,677.4 lakh (167.74 million). This is a steady but moderate increase compared to FY25, when airlines carried around 1,653.8 lakh passengers. The growth aligns with estimates by ICRA, which had projected a modest expansion of 0\u20133% for the year. […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/16-crore-indians-took-atleast-1-domestic-flight-in-fy2025-26\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile & Startups\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-01T04:23:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-05-01T04:23:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Screenshot-2024-11-28-at-4.08.52-PM-1024x492.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"492\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mohul Ghosh\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mohul Ghosh\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/16-crore-indians-took-atleast-1-domestic-flight-in-fy2025-26\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/16-crore-indians-took-atleast-1-domestic-flight-in-fy2025-26\/\",\"name\":\"16 Crore Indians Took Atleast 1 Domestic Flight In FY2025-26 - Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile & Startups\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/16-crore-indians-took-atleast-1-domestic-flight-in-fy2025-26\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/16-crore-indians-took-atleast-1-domestic-flight-in-fy2025-26\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Screenshot-2024-11-28-at-4.08.52-PM-scaled.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-01T04:23:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-05-01T04:23:53+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/5092a7d2906e3f3c819643435477c2a7\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/16-crore-indians-took-atleast-1-domestic-flight-in-fy2025-26\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/16-crore-indians-took-atleast-1-domestic-flight-in-fy2025-26\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/16-crore-indians-took-atleast-1-domestic-flight-in-fy2025-26\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Screenshot-2024-11-28-at-4.08.52-PM-scaled.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Screenshot-2024-11-28-at-4.08.52-PM-scaled.png\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1230},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/16-crore-indians-took-atleast-1-domestic-flight-in-fy2025-26\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"16 Crore Indians Took Atleast 1 Domestic Flight In FY2025-26\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/\",\"name\":\"Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile & Startups\",\"description\":\"Trak.in is a popular Indian Business, Technology, Mobile & Startup blog featuring trending News, views and analytical take on Technology, Business, Finance, Telecom, Mobile, startups & Social Media Space\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/5092a7d2906e3f3c819643435477c2a7\",\"name\":\"Mohul Ghosh\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/66c129d83dd3f325a3b550eb1aa16891173ddfc4686361424206cd9a01311c89?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/66c129d83dd3f325a3b550eb1aa16891173ddfc4686361424206cd9a01311c89?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Mohul Ghosh\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/author\/mohul-ghosh\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"16 Crore Indians Took Atleast 1 Domestic Flight In FY2025-26 - Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile & Startups","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/16-crore-indians-took-atleast-1-domestic-flight-in-fy2025-26\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"16 Crore Indians Took Atleast 1 Domestic Flight In FY2025-26 - Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile & Startups","og_description":"India\u2019s domestic aviation sector recorded 1.4% year-on-year growth in FY 2025\u201326, with total passenger traffic reaching 1,677.4 lakh (167.74 million). This is a steady but moderate increase compared to FY25, when airlines carried around 1,653.8 lakh passengers. The growth aligns with estimates by ICRA, which had projected a modest expansion of 0\u20133% for the year. […]","og_url":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/16-crore-indians-took-atleast-1-domestic-flight-in-fy2025-26\/","og_site_name":"Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile & Startups","article_published_time":"2026-05-01T04:23:40+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-05-01T04:23:53+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":492,"url":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Screenshot-2024-11-28-at-4.08.52-PM-1024x492.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Mohul Ghosh","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mohul Ghosh","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/16-crore-indians-took-atleast-1-domestic-flight-in-fy2025-26\/","url":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/16-crore-indians-took-atleast-1-domestic-flight-in-fy2025-26\/","name":"16 Crore Indians Took Atleast 1 Domestic Flight In FY2025-26 - Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile & Startups","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/16-crore-indians-took-atleast-1-domestic-flight-in-fy2025-26\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/16-crore-indians-took-atleast-1-domestic-flight-in-fy2025-26\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Screenshot-2024-11-28-at-4.08.52-PM-scaled.png","datePublished":"2026-05-01T04:23:40+00:00","dateModified":"2026-05-01T04:23:53+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/5092a7d2906e3f3c819643435477c2a7"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/16-crore-indians-took-atleast-1-domestic-flight-in-fy2025-26\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/16-crore-indians-took-atleast-1-domestic-flight-in-fy2025-26\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/16-crore-indians-took-atleast-1-domestic-flight-in-fy2025-26\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Screenshot-2024-11-28-at-4.08.52-PM-scaled.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Screenshot-2024-11-28-at-4.08.52-PM-scaled.png","width":2560,"height":1230},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/16-crore-indians-took-atleast-1-domestic-flight-in-fy2025-26\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"16 Crore Indians Took Atleast 1 Domestic Flight In FY2025-26"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/#website","url":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/","name":"Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile & Startups","description":"Trak.in is a popular Indian Business, Technology, Mobile & Startup blog featuring trending News, views and analytical take on Technology, Business, Finance, Telecom, Mobile, startups & Social Media Space","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/5092a7d2906e3f3c819643435477c2a7","name":"Mohul Ghosh","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/66c129d83dd3f325a3b550eb1aa16891173ddfc4686361424206cd9a01311c89?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/66c129d83dd3f325a3b550eb1aa16891173ddfc4686361424206cd9a01311c89?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Mohul Ghosh"},"url":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/author\/mohul-ghosh\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Screenshot-2024-11-28-at-4.08.52-PM-scaled.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1308997","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1308997"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1308997\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1309005,"href":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1308997\/revisions\/1309005"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1309004"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1308997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1308997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1308997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}