Indian domestic airlines carried approximately 1.33 crore passengers in March 2024, representing a 3.68 per cent increase from the previous month and 4.38 per cent year-on-year growth, according to Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)  data.

“Passengers carried by domestic airlines during January–March 2024 were 391.46 lakhs as against 375.04 lakhs during the corresponding period of the previous year, thereby registering an annual growth of 4.38 per cent and monthly growth of 3.68 per cent,” DGCA said.

Also read: Domestic air traffic inches up in February despite delays and cancellations

IndiGo maintained its lead in the domestic market, ferrying 80.86 lakh passengers to capture the largest market share (60.5 per cent) in March. However, compared to February, the number of passengers increased by a moderate 4.77 lakh and market share grew marginally by 0.4 per cent.

Air India experienced moderate growth, carrying 17.47 lakh passengers in March, up by 1.3 lakh, and 0.3 per cent increase in market share, compared to February. Vistara flew 29,000 more passengers but its market share dipped 0.3 per cent in March, compared to the previous month. SpiceJet saw an increase in passengers (43,000) and market share (0.1 per cent) in March.

Performance metrics

In terms of on-time performance (OTP) at the four metro airports (Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, and Mumbai), Akasa Air led with 84.5 per cent, followed by AIX Connect and IndiGo with 83 per cent and 81.3 per cent, respectively.

Also read: 6 per cent rise in number of flights this summer

For passenger load factor (PLF), Vistara retained the top spot in March with 92.1 per cent, which was slightly lower than in February (94.2 per cent). SpiceJet had the lowest PLF (86.0 per cent) in March, lower than in February (88.1 per cent). IndiGo’s PLF, too, dropped in March (88.1 per cent) compared to February (94.6 per cent). Akasa Air’s PLF increased from 87.1 per cent in February to 88.1 per cent in March.

Flight delays affected over 2 lakh passengers in March, with 23,675 facing cancellations and 943 denied boarding.

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