IndiGo, Air India Hold 91% Of Domestic Market, Centre Informs Parliament

The government has informed the Rajya Sabha that India's domestic aviation market is highly concentrated, with IndiGo and Air India Group together accounting for 91 per cent market share, even as thousands of cancellations affected lakhs of passengers, while key data on losses and stranded flyers remains unavailable.

The data emerged in response to an unstarred question raised by Trinamool Congress MP Sagarika Ghose, addressed to the Ministry of Civil Aviation. The reply was furnished by Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol on Monday.

"As per the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) data, in the year 2025, M/s Indigo holds about 64.0 per cent market share, while Air India Group holds 27.0%. Together, these two airlines hold 91 per cent of the domestic market," the Ministry said.

The government also disclosed that 5,689 scheduled domestic flights were cancelled by IndiGo in December 2025. "As per the data submitted by the airlines to DGCA, during December 2025, M/s IndiGo cancelled 5,689 scheduled domestic flights," the reply stated.

The Centre noted that IndiGo has paid Rs 4,620.5 lakh so far towards compensation, adding that refunds linked to the mass cancellations in December-largely due to poor pilot scheduling and new flight duty time limitations-"have been processed and credited to the original mode of payment."

The government said over 3.64 lakh passengers were affected during a three-day period in December 2025, based on data submitted to the DGCA.

However, the Centre also stated key gaps in data collection. "No data on airline-wise losses due to cancelled flights and cumulative losses to passengers is maintained by DGCA," it said, adding that there is also no data on "stranded passengers denied refunds or alternate flights."

Market share data for January 2026 further underlines the dominance of the top carriers, with IndiGo at 63.6 per cent and Air India at 26.5 per cent, while smaller airlines such as Akasa Air and SpiceJet continue to hold marginal shares.