Indian airlines see 12% growth in November domestic traffic but challenges persist

Indian airlines flew 1.42 crore passengers on domestic routes in November, marking a nearly 12% growth compared to the same period last year, reflecting surging air travel demand. Market leader IndiGo maintained its dominance with a 63.6% share, followed by Air India at 24.4%, Akasa Air at 4.7%, and SpiceJet at 3.1%. Alliance Air held steady at 0.7%, according to data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

The DGCA report highlighted that Indian airlines carried 1,464.02 lakh passengers between January and November 2024, a 5.91% annual growth. November alone saw a 11.9% surge, with passenger numbers jumping from 127.36 lakh in November 2023 to 142.52 lakh this year.

Air India's merger with full-service carrier Vistara in November added momentum to its operations. However, the sector faced turbulence in On Time Performance (OTP) and passenger services.


IndiGo’s OTP at key metro airports—Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad, and Mumbai—was 74.5%, outperforming Akasa Air (66.4%) and SpiceJet (62.5%). Air India and Alliance Air lagged, with OTPs of 58.8% and 58.9%, respectively.

Despite the growth in passenger numbers, service delays affected 2.24 lakh passengers in November, prompting airlines to spend Rs 2.90 crore on facilitation. Meanwhile, flight cancellations impacted over 27,500 passengers, with Rs 36.79 lakh disbursed as compensation.

Also Read: How 2024 turned out to be a turbulent ride for Indian flyers

Additionally, 3,539 passengers were denied boarding, with airlines compensating Rs 2.84 crore. Scheduled domestic airlines also received 624 passenger-related complaints last month, underscoring the challenges of scaling operations while meeting service expectations.

Scheduled domestic airlines received a total of 624 passenger complaints last month.

"The outlook for the Indian aviation industry remains Stable, driven by expectations of moderate growth in domestic air passenger traffic and a relatively stable cost environment in FY2025. Moreover, the industry witnessed improved pricing power during FY2024, reflected in the higher yields (over pre-Covid levels) and, the revenue per available seat kilometre–cost per available seat kilometre (RASK–CASK) spread of the airlines" Icra said in note.

The strong growth in air passenger traffic seen in FY2024 is expected to slow down slightly to 7-10% in FY2025, compared to 13% in FY2024, Icra said. This slowdown is due to the high growth seen last year and lower passenger numbers in the first half of FY2025, caused by severe heat waves and weather disruptions. Airlines may also face pressure on ticket prices as they work to keep flights adequately filled. Meanwhile, international passenger traffic for Indian airlines is projected to grow by 15-20% in FY2025.