September Aviation Data: Domestic Airlines Report 6.38% Passenger Growth

Indian airlines in September showed steady growth in passenger traffic amid varied flight cancellation rates, according to aviation data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

In September, the aviation sector recorded a 6.38% monthly growth, with 130.3 crore passengers flying domestically. The cancellation rate for scheduled domestic flights averaged 0.85%, with SpiceJet reporting the highest at 4.12% and Air India the lowest at 0.13%.

IndiGo cancelled 0.62% of its flights in September, while Akasa Air's cancellation rate stood at 1.11%. Vistara's rate was 0.88% last month.

India presently operates 157 airports, heliports, and waterdromes. By the end of 2025, the number of operational airports is projected to increase to 200. Last week, Civil Aviation Secretary Vumlunmang Vualnam revealed at the conference that India's air trips per capita per year currently stand at 0.13.

Flight cancellations were primarily caused by technical issues, accounting for 41.6% of all cancellations. Weather-related disruptions made up 17.8%, while operational challenges accounted for 11.9%.

Commercial reasons led to 0.8% of cancellations, and miscellaneous causes comprised 27.9% of the total. These factors contributed to the overall number of flight cancellations.

Domestic airlines received 765 complaints in September, amounting to 0.59 complaints per 10,000 passengers.

From January to September 2024, Indian carriers transported 11.84 crore passengers, marking a 4.99% increase over the 11.29 crore passengers during the same period in 2023.

The latest figures reflect the sector's steady recovery, although operational challenges like technical issues continue to affect service reliability.