Except Delhi, flights at most Indian airports log drop: Data

Flight operations at major Indian airports fell by up to 20% in June and July as the West Asia conflict disrupted international travel and raised costs.

India’s major airports operated significantly fewer flights in June and July than a year ago, with some recording declines of nearly 20%, as the prolonged conflict in West Asia disrupted international travel and forced airlines to cut or suspend some services.

India’s major airports saw flight operations fall sharply in June and July as the West Asia conflict disrupted airspace, international routes and airline schedules. (Satyabrata Tripathy/HT Photo)

Data from aviation analytics firm Cirium, reviewed by HT, shows that Chennai and Hyderabad recorded the steepest declines among the country’s major airports. Chennai saw flight operations fall 20% in June and 18.9% in July year-on-year, while Hyderabad recorded declines of around 20% in June and nearly 19% in July.

Mumbai, India’s second-busiest airport, also recorded a sharp fall, with flight operations declining 10.4% in June and 12.5% in July from the corresponding months last year. Kolkata recorded declines of 13.2% in June and 16.8% in July, while Bengaluru recorded year-on-year reductions of 11.7% and 10.1%, respectively.

The decline comes as airlines grapple with the impact of the ongoing West Asia conflict, which has disrupted airspace, increased flying times on several international routes and weakened demand for travel to key overseas destinations.

Among the country’s six major metro airports, Delhi emerged as the only exception. Indira Gandhi International Airport recorded an 8% increase in flight operations in June and a 2.5% rise in July compared with the same months last year.

To be sure, Delhi serves as the country’s largest aviation hub, with a wider domestic network and a substantial share of connecting traffic, factors that may have helped cushion the impact.

“The weakness in flight operations highlights the wider impact of the West Asia crisis on India’s aviation sector, with airlines recalibrating schedules in response to changing demand and higher operating costs,” an airline official said on condition of anonymity.

“Airlines have substantially reduced their planned capacity for the first half (H1) of FY27 because operating costs have risen sharply, while passenger demand has weakened. As a result, the decline in flight numbers across airports is in line with expectations,” said Kapil Kaul, CEO of aviation consulting and research firm CAPA India.

Mark D Martin of Martin Consulting attributed the decline largely to slower international operations.

“The impact reflected in these figures is largely on international routes, particularly those affected by the closure of Iranian, Iraqi and parts of Israeli airspace, which increased fuel costs and flight times. Domestic operations remained largely status quo because the government had already softened the impact of higher fuel prices,” he said.