Domestic airlines will operate fewer flights during the summer schedule starting from March 29, which is aroud 10% lower than the services flown during the same period a year ago.
Domestic carriers will operate around 24400 flights in the upcoming summer schedule for 2026, around 4.6% lower than the capacity in 2025, multiple government officials told FE. As many as 25,610 weekly flights were operated during the summer schedule of 2025, which ran from March 31 to October 26.
With passenger traffic rising faster than flight additions, fares, which have been on the rise, are likely to rise further, say experts, as the rise in domestic air passenger traffic has seen a steeper growth. Domestic air passenger traffic rose 3.5 percent on year in 2025.
While the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has put out the airline-wise domestic summer schedule for 2026 on its website, the regulator has not provided a consolidated figure and comparison with the previous summer schedule or the ongoing winter schedule.
The nine airlines that are to operate flights during the 2026 summer schedule are Air India, Air India Express, IndiGo, Akasa Air, SpiceJet, Alliance Air, FLY91, Star Air and IndiaOne Air.
Escalating Operating Costs
Airlines are reducing their capacity in response to increasing operating costs, particularly related to fuel and foreign exchange fluctuations. Officials have expressed concerns that if geopolitical tensions in West Asia continue, travel demand may decline further.
In the current winter schedule from October 26, 2025, to March 28, 2026, airlines were to operate 26,495 weekly flights. However, the massive operational disruptions at IndiGo in early December had an impact, and the DGCA had curtailed the carrier’s winter schedule flights by 10%.
Airline-Wise Outlook
According to estimates shared with FE by government officials, IndiGo plans to operate around 14,100 weekly flights in the upcoming summer schedule. The airline on Tuesday (March 24) said it intends to start its domestic summer schedule with nearly 2,000 daily flights in April.
“IndiGo’s international schedule was planned at similar levels to winter, but the deployed scale will, of course, vary based on ongoing circumstances in the Middle East. It should be noted that there is a very material escalation in operating costs, with fuel and forex-related costs expected to continue to increase very substantially, in addition to what is already an escalating cost environment,” the airline had said.
Similarly, estimates show that Air India plans to operate 2,800 weekly flights in the upcoming summer schedule, nearly 34.6% lower when compared to the previous year. Air India Express plans to operate around 3,200 weekly flights in the same period, nearly 5.4% lower on year.
Akasa Air plans to operate around 1,300 weekly flights in the upcoming summer schedule, nearly 21.5% higher than the previous year. SpiceJet plans to operate 1,250 weekly flights in the same period, largely unchanged from last year.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has also lifted temporary fare caps on domestic airline tickets that were established in December. Officials stated that the circumstances leading to these controls have now stabilized. However, they cautioned airlines that if prices become excessively high, the ministry will not hesitate to reintroduce fare regulations.