India’s domestic air travel witnessed a 7 percent jump in November 2025, with passenger numbers reaching 15.2 million, largely driven by festive season travel. However, growth eased slightly towards the end of the month.

A report by Emkay Global Financial Services highlighted that while operations returned to normal by mid-December, weather-related disruptions affected on-time performance (OTP) and caused some flight cancellations.

IndiGo faced multiple challenges including weather issues, software glitches, and the implementation of Flight Duty Time Limitation norms, which led to a 2 percent drop in its market share to 63.6 percent in November. In contrast, SpiceJet and the Air India Group gained ground. SpiceJet’s share rose to 3.7 percent, supported by extra slots, fleet expansion, and increased available seat kilometres, while the Air India Group’s share climbed to 26.7 percent.

Passenger load factors improved across major airlines. The Air India Group saw the largest rise with a 10.2 percent uptick. IndiGo and SpiceJet posted load factors of 88.7 percent and 87.7 percent respectively, while Akasa led with 93.8 percent. Cancellation rates varied, with IndiGo recording the highest at 1.57 percent, up from 0.48 percent month-on-month.

On-time performance dipped due to weather challenges. IndiGo’s OTP fell to 69 percent from 84.1 percent, Air India Group’s to 69.1 percent from 79.3 percent, and SpiceJet logged the lowest at 48.4 percent.

Looking ahead, with declining crude prices and softer refining margins, aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices are expected to drop by 5-6 percent in January 2026 from the current INR 99.7 per litre in Delhi.