India's domestic aviation sector continued to grow steadily during the first six months of 2026, although the pace of growth remained moderate. According to the latest monthly traffic report released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), domestic airlines carried 864.04 lakh passengers between January and June 2026, compared to 851.74 lakh passengers during the same period last year, registering a 1.44% year-on-year increase.

While more Indians continue to travel by air, the latest figures also reveal that airlines are still grappling with operational challenges, including flight delays, cancellations and technical issues. For passengers, these numbers provide a clearer picture of which airlines performed well and what factors disrupted travel during June.

IndiGo strengthens its leadership

IndiGo further strengthened its dominance in the domestic market during June.

The airline's market share increased to 66.3%, up from 64.9% in May, meaning that nearly two out of every three domestic passengers flew with IndiGo. The airline continues to benefit from its extensive network, large fleet and strong operational reliability.

Among other airlines, Akasa Air also recorded healthy growth, increasing its market share from 5.8% in May to 6.4% in June, continuing its steady expansion in the Indian market.

Although IndiGo remained the clear market leader, its passenger load factor—or the percentage of seats occupied, slightly declined from 86.4% in May to 85.1% in June, indicating a small easing in demand or additional capacity being introduced.

Regional carriers showed mixed performance. Fly91 improved its load factor from 69.3% to 73.2%, while IndiaOne Air increased from 53.5% to 59.3%. Alliance Air recorded a marginal improvement to 61.7%, whereas Star Air saw its load factor fall slightly from 76.1% to 75.0%.

More flight cancellations during June

Travellers experienced a slight increase in flight cancellations during June. The overall cancellation rate among scheduled domestic airlines rose to 0.63%, compared to 0.55% in May.

Among all carriers, IndiaOne Air recorded the highest cancellation rate at 16.43%, followed by SpiceJet (6.23%), Alliance Air (6.00%) and Fly91 (4.15%).

On the other hand, IndiGo and Akasa Air recorded the lowest cancellation rate at just 0.20% each, reflecting stronger operational stability.

The DGCA report shows that technical issues were the single biggest reason behind flight cancellations, accounting for 39.6% of all cancelled flights. Operational reasons contributed 36.3%, while weather-related disruptions accounted for 20.3%. Commercial reasons and miscellaneous factors made up the remaining cancellations.

The data highlights that aircraft maintenance and technical reliability continue to play a significant role in airline operations, particularly as fleets expand rapidly and global supply chain constraints continue to affect maintenance schedules.

Also read: How the next phase of UDAN is taking flight across India 

Passenger complaints remain low

Despite the operational disruptions, passenger complaints remained relatively limited. Domestic airlines received 2,568 passenger complaints during June, equivalent to 1.91 complaints for every 10,000 passengers carried. According to the DGCA, all complaints were resolved.

Alliance Air recorded the highest complaint rate at 68.6 complaints per 10,000 passengers, while SpiceJet recorded 3.4 complaints. Air India Group and Fly91 each reported 3.2 complaints, followed by Akasa Air (2.0), Star Air (1.1) and IndiGo (1.0). IndiaOne Air reported no passenger complaints during the month.

The most common issue faced by passengers was baggage handling, accounting for 27.8% of all complaints.

IndiGo leads in on-time performance

Punctuality remained one of the biggest differentiators among airlines. Among carriers operating at India's ten busiest airports, IndiGo recorded the highest On-Time Performance (OTP) at 89.4%, followed by Air India Group at 85.9% and then Akasa Air, Alliance and SpiceJet. For passengers, higher OTP generally translates into fewer missed connections and more reliable travel schedules.

Among airports, Chennai emerged as India's most punctual airport with an OTP of 95.2%, followed by Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Kolkata. Ahmedabad recorded the lowest OTP among the top ten airports at 76.7%.

Why are flights getting delayed?

The DGCA report also examined the reasons behind flight delays. The largest contributor was reactionary delays, accounting for 69% of all delayed flights. These occur when one delayed flight causes subsequent flights using the same aircraft or crew to be delayed.

The data indicates that once delays begin, they tend to spread across airline schedules, affecting multiple flights throughout the day. Overall, 1.18% of domestic flights were delayed by more than two hours during June.

According to the DGCA about 43,968 passengers were affected by flight cancellations, with airlines spending ₹61.98 lakh on compensation and facilitation while 1,10,273 passengers experienced flight delays exceeding two hours, prompting airlines to spend ₹284.61 lakh on passenger care and support.

Also read: DGCA pulls up IndiGo over dangerous goods handling lapses after cargo spillage audit  

What does this mean for passengers?

The latest DGCA figures paint a picture of an aviation industry that continues to grow, but not without challenges. Passenger numbers are increasing steadily, reflecting sustained demand for domestic air travel. At the same time, airlines are operating under pressure from expanding fleets, technical maintenance requirements and operational constraints, all of which can affect punctuality and reliability.

For passengers, the report also reinforces the importance of choosing airlines with stronger operational performance. IndiGo and Akasa Air recorded the lowest cancellation rates, while IndiGo also led the industry in on-time performance, making them among the more reliable options for travellers during June.

As India's aviation sector continues to expand, improving operational efficiency, reducing technical disruptions and enhancing customer service will be crucial to ensuring that the passenger experience keeps pace with the country's growing appetite for air travel.