Mumbai: Indian airlines are staging a resilient recovery in international operations, rebounding from a sharp contraction triggered by geopolitical disruptions in West Asia. Official sir traffic statistics from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) revealed that monthly international passenger volumes carried by domestic carriers breached the 25 lakh threshold in July for the first time since February, signalling a definitive turnaround in overseas air travel.
West Asia Crisis Triggered Sharp Decline
In August, The Free Press Journal had reported that India's international air passenger traffic suffered a sharp contraction in the second quarter of 2026 – from April to June – as the total number of passengers dropped to 1.72 crore, down from 1.89 crore in the corresponding period in the previous year. However, the market share of Indian airlines dropped to 37%, with only 64.14 lakh passengers carried in three months.
According to DGCA's latest data of Indian carriers’ international air traffic in the month of July, about 25.59 lakh passengers were carried by Indian airlines, which operated 15,949 departures. The graph showed signs of recovery from the multi-month slump caused by closed airspaces and rerouted flight paths across the Middle East and West Asia. However, the traffic recorded in July was 24% lower than the 33.97 lakh passengers flown in January this month.
Airlines Adapted To Changing Flight Conditions
The disruption began in late February following escalations in West Asia, resulting in the traffic dropping to 28.52 lakh. It forced airlines to adjust flight schedules, bypass restricted airspaces and face surging operational costs. By March, international flight operations by Indian carriers experienced a steep contraction, dropping to 11,284 departures and 18.44 lakh passengers. The downturn bottomed out in April with 11,508 departures carrying only 18.24 lakh passengers.
However, prolonged tensions forced airlines to restructure network schedules as they deployed additional capacity along safer alternative corridors. Operational metrics began climbing month-over-month through the second quarter. Around 13,995 departures carried 22.58 lakh passengers in May, which increased to 14,662 departures and 23.32 lakh passengers in June.
According to industry experts, the rebound highlighted strong demand for international travel from India despite higher operational costs from longer flight routes. This could be driven by strategic airspace rerouting with Indian carriers recalibrating long-haul flight paths, strong outbound summer travel demand and aggressive capacity deployment by market leaders like IndiGo and the Air India group.
Earlier this month, credit rating agency ICRA had projected that air passenger traffic at Indian airports is expected to grow by a modest 1% to 3% in the financial year 2026-27, reaching between 424 million and 432 million passengers.
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