India's International Air Traffic Falls 7.1% Explained: Why Overseas Flying Slowed, Why Delhi and Vijayawada Grew, and What It Means for Travellers
Key Takeaways
- India's international passenger traffic fell 7.1% in April-September 2026 versus a year earlier, while domestic traffic fell 1.9% and total traffic fell 2.9%, per the AAI half-yearly report.
- Only Delhi (+2% to 1,03,76,225 international passengers, helped by new routes) and Vijayawada (+79.6% to 24,495, on Singapore and Sharjah services) grew internationally among 51 airports.
- International flight movements fell 6.7% and domestic movements fell 2.7%, while overall freight traffic grew 11.7%, driven by international cargo.
- West Asia geopolitical tensions and airspace restrictions since late February 2026, plus sharply higher aviation fuel costs, are the main drivers cited for the slowdown.
- Analysts expect FY27 traffic to stay muted in the near term but say long-term demand drivers for Indian airports remain intact.
India's international air traffic fell sharply in the first half of this financial year, according to new data from the Airports Authority of India (AAI). The half-yearly Air Traffic Report, released on Wednesday, 28 October 2026, covers April to September 2026 and shows that fewer people flew in and out of the country than in the same period a year earlier, even as cargo traffic grew strongly. Only two of the 51 airports studied — Delhi and Vijayawada — managed to grow their international passenger numbers.
The numbers matter because they capture a turning point for Indian aviation. After years of rapid growth, international flying from India has now shrunk for months in a row, squeezed by geopolitical tensions in West Asia, closed or restricted airspace, and rising fuel costs. This article explains what the AAI data actually says, why Delhi and Vijayawada bucked the trend, what is driving the slowdown, and what it could mean for passengers, airlines and airports in the months ahead.
What the AAI data shows
The headline figure is a 7.1% fall in international passenger traffic at Indian airports between April and September 2026, compared with April to September 2025. Domestic passenger traffic also slipped, though by a smaller 1.9%. Taken together, total passenger traffic across the country was down 2.9%.
The decline was not just about passengers. International aircraft movements — that is, the number of international flights operated — fell 6.7%, while domestic movements fell 2.7%. In other words, airlines flew fewer international services and carried fewer people on them.
One part of the business moved in the opposite direction. Overall freight traffic grew 11.7%, driven mainly by international cargo. That contrast is important: it suggests that while people travelled less, goods kept moving, and belly-hold and freighter capacity for cargo held up better than passenger demand.
The AAI report also includes data for September 2026 alone, alongside the half-year figures. The monthly numbers fit the same pattern of softness that other aviation data has shown through the year, with domestic traffic in particular weakening through the monsoon months.
Why Delhi and Vijayawada grew when others shrank
Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) was the big exception. It handled 1,03,76,225 international passengers between April and September 2026, up from 1,01,70,349 in the same period of 2025 — a rise of about 2%. The report credits new international routes introduced from Delhi during the period for helping it grow despite the wider downturn.
Delhi's scale is part of the story. As India's largest international gateway, it has a deep network of long-haul and regional routes, a large hub operation, and connecting traffic that smaller airports cannot match. When some routes are disrupted, a hub airport can often shift capacity, add new destinations, or pick up passengers rerouted through it. That resilience is exactly what the numbers show.
The other exception was much smaller but far more dramatic in percentage terms. Vijayawada International Airport recorded 24,495 international passengers in the half year, against 13,639 a year earlier — growth of 79.6%. Vijayawada connects to just two international destinations, Singapore and Sharjah, each served three times a week. From a low base, even a modest increase in flights or fuller aircraft can produce a very large percentage jump, and that is what happened here.
The fact that only two of 51 airports grew internationally underlines how broad the slowdown was. It was not a problem at one or two airports; it was a system-wide softening of international demand and capacity.
What is behind the slowdown
The report itself points to geopolitical tensions, particularly in West Asia, as a significant blow to international travel from India. That explanation is consistent with other aviation data published through 2026.
Airspace restrictions linked to the West Asia crisis, in place in some form since late February 2026, have forced airlines to reroute flights, fly longer sectors, and in some cases suspend services. Longer routes burn more fuel and cost more to operate, and they can also make schedules less attractive to passengers. Industry analysts have repeatedly cited these restrictions as a key reason for the sustained fall in overseas traffic.
Fuel costs have added to the pressure. According to ICRA's September 2026 update, domestic aviation turbine fuel prices rose 33.4% year on year in September, and oil marketing companies raised the price for domestic airlines further on 1 October, from Rs 121 per litre to Rs 137 per litre — a further increase of 13.2%. ICRA estimates that fuel accounts for 30% to 40% of an airline's operating expenses, and that 35% to 50% of total costs are dollar-denominated, so a weaker rupee compounds the problem. The Reserve Bank of India's reference rate was Rs 95.97 per dollar on 28 September 2026.
A separate measure of the same slowdown tells a similar story. ICRA reported that Indian airlines' international passenger traffic fell 20.9% year on year in April to August 2026, a steeper drop than the AAI's airport-based figure because the two measures count different things: the AAI counts passengers passing through Indian airports, including those on foreign airlines, while ICRA's figure counts passengers carried by Indian airlines. The two are not directly comparable, but they point in the same direction — international flying has been under sustained pressure for most of 2026.
Ratings agency Ind-Ra has also noted the trend. In an assessment of airport traffic, it reported a 2.4% overall passenger decline in the first five months of FY27, with international traffic down 7.7% and domestic traffic down 1.1% in that period, again citing geopolitical tensions in West Asia and elevated fuel costs on certain routes. The agency expects FY27 traffic to remain muted because of fuel costs, capacity constraints and continued tensions, though it says long-term demand drivers for airports remain intact.
Domestic traffic has its own, related story. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation reported 12.13 million domestic passengers in August 2026, down 6.34% from August 2025, and September domestic traffic fell 6.5% year on year to 1.18 crore passengers, according to data compiled by NDTV Profit. Domestic growth had already slowed sharply before this year — from 13% in FY24 to 7.7% in FY25 and just 1.2% in FY26 — so the current declines are an acceleration of a cooling trend, not a sudden break from runaway growth.
What it means for passengers
For travellers, the immediate effects are mixed. Fewer flights on some international routes can mean less choice, less convenient timings, and in some cases higher fares on the routes most affected by rerouting and fuel costs. At the same time, the growth at Delhi shows that major hubs are still adding routes, and the strong cargo performance means airlines have some revenue cushion beyond ticket sales.
Passengers planning international travel in the coming months should watch a few things closely. First, route announcements: new services from Delhi and other hubs may open up alternatives even if a familiar route has been cut. Second, schedules: rerouted flights can mean longer journey times, so the shortest-looking itinerary may not be the fastest in practice. Third, fares: with fuel costs high and capacity tight on some routes, booking early and comparing hub options may matter more than usual.
None of this means Indian aviation is in retreat for good. The Ind-Ra assessment stresses that long-term demand drivers — a growing economy, rising incomes, and expanding airport infrastructure — remain in place. The current downturn looks like a shock-driven pause, driven by geopolitics and costs, rather than a collapse in the underlying desire to fly.
What it means for airlines and airports
For airlines, the numbers sharpen a difficult equation. International operations, which were a growth engine in recent years, are now shrinking, while fuel and dollar-denominated costs are rising. ICRA expects the industry to lose Rs 360 billion to Rs 380 billion in FY27 and has kept a negative outlook on the sector, citing the airspace restrictions in place since February 2026. The Air India group's widening quarterly losses, reported in the same period, show how fuel, foreign exchange and airspace closures are already hitting airline balance sheets.
For airports, the picture is more varied. Large hubs such as Delhi can offset weakness with new routes and connecting traffic, while smaller international airports are more exposed to the loss of even a single service. The AAI data also hints at a policy debate that Ind-Ra flagged: a proposal under consideration to allow certain airport operators to own or operate airlines, with the stated aim of increasing competition in a domestic market where IndiGo and the Air India group together account for about 90% of traffic. Ind-Ra says such a move is unlikely to have immediate rating implications, but its eventual effect would depend on how it is structured.
For the government, the half-year figures will feed into decisions on aviation turbine fuel, airport charges, and support for routes. Ind-Ra notes that government measures, including fuel price caps and liquidity support, have helped stabilise domestic traffic. Whether similar support is extended, and whether airspace conditions ease, will shape whether the second half of FY27 looks better than the first.
What to watch next
Three things will decide whether this is a short dip or a longer slump. The first is geopolitics: any easing of West Asia tensions and airspace restrictions would remove the single biggest drag on international flying. The second is fuel: aviation turbine fuel prices and the rupee-dollar rate directly affect airline costs and, eventually, ticket prices. The third is capacity: whether airlines restore suspended routes and whether airports such as Delhi keep adding new international services.
The next AAI monthly and quarterly releases will show whether the September weakness carried into the festive season, traditionally a strong period for travel. For now, the half-year data gives a clear message: India's international aviation boom has hit turbulence, Delhi and Vijayawada are the exceptions that prove the rule, and the recovery will depend less on demand — which remains fundamentally strong — than on geopolitics, fuel, and the cost of flying through a more complicated sky.
Conclusion
The AAI's April to September 2026 figures mark a sobering moment for Indian aviation. International passenger traffic fell 7.1%, domestic traffic fell 1.9%, and total traffic fell 2.9%, with flight movements down on both fronts. Yet cargo grew 11.7%, Delhi grew its international traffic by 2% on the back of new routes, and Vijayawada surged 79.6% from a small base. The slowdown is real, broad-based, and driven by forces largely outside airlines' control — West Asia tensions, airspace restrictions, and fuel costs. The long-term story of Indian aviation is not over, but its next chapter will be written by how quickly those pressures ease and how fast airlines and airports can rebuild the routes that have been lost.