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India's domestic aviation sector continued its upward trajectory in 2025, with airlines carrying 977.79 lakh passengers between January and July, according to data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Wednesday. This marked a 5.9 per cent increase year-on-year, compared to 923.35 lakh passengers carried in the same period of 2024.
However, on a month-to-month basis, the industry faced a slight slowdown. Passenger traffic in July 2025 dropped by 2.94 per cent compared to June, with airlines flying 126.05 lakh passengers in July, down from 129.87 lakh the previous month. Despite the monthly dip, most airlines managed to maintain strong passenger load factors (PLFs), reflecting sustained demand and efficient capacity utilisation. IndiGo, the country's largest airline by market share, recorded a passenger load factor (PLF) of 84.1% in July 2025, marginally lower than 85.4 per cent in June. Despite the slight dip, IndiGo continues to dominate domestic skies, leveraging its vast fleet and extensive route network. The airline's high PLF underlines sustained demand, even in a seasonally weaker month. The Air India Group (Air India and Air India Express combined) registered a PLF of 78.6 per cent in July, down from 81.5 per cent in June 2025. While the group remains the second-largest player in the domestic market, the numbers suggest pressure on capacity utilisation as the carrier undertakes a major fleet and service overhaul under the Tata Group. Akasa Air continued its rise with one of the strongest PLFs at 90.2 per cent, nearly matching IndiGo on efficiency. SpiceJet maintained a healthy 84.2 per cent PLF, while newer airlines like Fly91 showed improvement, reaching 70 per cent in July. Regional players, such as IndiaOne Air, also surprised with a sharp improvement from 60.4 per cent in June to 74.5 per cent in July. Alliance Air reported the lowest rate among major carriers at 62.8 per cent, a dip from 67.9 per cent. Fly Big continued to struggle with a PLF of 19.5 per cent, down from 21.8 per cent. Fly91, a newer entrant, improved its load factor from 66.4 per cent in June to 70 per cent in July. Star Air maintained a relatively stable PLF at 69.9 per cent. (ANI)
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