India's aviation sector witnessed a notable shift in market dynamics during November 2025, with industry leader IndiGo experiencing a decline in its domestic dominance. According to the latest official data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the carrier's market share fell to 63.6 per cent in November, down from 65.6 per cent the previous month.
Operational Disruptions Trigger Market Shift
The decline in IndiGo's market share followed significant operational disruptions earlier in the month. These challenges prompted the aviation regulator to direct the airline to reduce its winter schedule by 10 per cent. Despite this setback, IndiGo retained its position as the country's largest domestic airline, but the gap with its competitors narrowed noticeably.
While IndiGo's footprint shrank, rival carriers successfully captured the opportunity. The Air India Group, which includes Air India and Air India Express, saw its combined domestic market share increase to 26.7 per cent in November from 25.7 per cent in October. Similarly, SpiceJet posted a significant gain, with its share rising to 3.7 per cent from 2.6 per cent.
Akasa Air's Share Declines Amidst Overall Growth
Not all competitors benefited from the shift. Akasa Air experienced a contraction in its domestic market presence, with its share easing to 4.7 per cent in November from 5.2 per cent a month earlier. This occurred against the backdrop of a consistently growing domestic air travel market.
The DGCA data revealed robust growth in passenger traffic. Domestic airlines carried a total of 1,526.35 lakh passengers between January and November 2025. This represents an increase from the 1,464.02 lakh passengers carried in the same period last year, registering a healthy annual growth of 4.26 per cent. On a monthly basis, November saw a growth of 6.92 per cent in passenger numbers.
Passenger Service Issues Remain a Key Concern
Despite the overall growth, passenger service issues continued to plague the industry. Airlines received a total of 1,196 passenger-related complaints in November. The breakdown of these grievances highlights persistent problem areas:
- Flight-related problems accounted for the majority at 50.6 per cent of all complaints.
- Baggage issues were the second-largest category at 17.9 per cent.
- Refund-related complaints made up 12.5 per cent of the total.
On a positive note, the overall cancellation rate for scheduled domestic flights stood at 1.33 per cent in November. This figure indicates relatively stable operations across the sector, even as individual airlines like IndiGo faced specific operational hurdles.
The November data underscores the competitive and fluid nature of India's aviation market, where operational performance directly impacts market share. While IndiGo remains the dominant player, its rivals are demonstrating an ability to capitalize on any missteps, setting the stage for an intriguing battle for sky supremacy in the coming months.
