India’s aviation sector witnessed a slowdown in July 2026, with total scheduled airline capacity declining 4.7% year-on-year to 22.5 million seats from 23.6 million, according to aviation analytics firm OAG. The fall was primarily driven by significant capacity reductions by the Air India Group, which removed over 1.1 million scheduled seats compared to July last year.Domestic capacity fell 4.6% to 14.9 million seats, while international capacity dropped 4.8% to 7.6 million. Domestic routes continued to account for nearly two-thirds of the country’s total scheduled airline capacity.Air India recorded the sharpest decline among major Indian carriers, reducing capacity by 19.2% to 2.8 million seats. Air India Express also cut capacity by 16.8% to 2.2 million seats. The airline group had earlier announced temporary reductions across several international routes between June and August, citing airspace restrictions caused by the Iran-Israel conflict and soaring jet fuel prices. Longer flight paths and higher operating costs have added to the pressure.SpiceJet also reduced operations, with capacity declining 18.7% to nearly 380,000 seats after returning all 16 wet-leased aircraft and grounding several planes for maintenance.Market leader IndiGo remained largely unaffected, recording only a marginal 0.3% dip in scheduled capacity to 11.58 million seats. The airline retained its dominant 51% share of India’s scheduled airline market.Akasa Air stood out as the only major domestic carrier to expand operations. It increased capacity by 7.4% to over 880,000 seats as it continued fleet expansion and network growth, with plans to boost capacity by 30% during the current financial year.Among foreign airlines, Emirates and Qatar Airways posted modest capacity growth, while Etihad Airways and Singapore Airlines reported slight declines.
India’s Airline Capacity Falls 4.7% In July As Air India Slashes Flights
