FY26 Air Travel Growth Unlikely to Stop Airline Losses: ICRA

The Indian aviation industry is expected to continue growing, with domestic air passenger traffic expected to grow by 7-10 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in FY2026, reaching 175-181 million passengers, according to an ICRA report.

- TDG NETWORK

This follows a 7.6 per cent YoY increase in FY2025, when the total domestic traffic stood at 165.4 million passengers. Notably, this figure is 16.8 per cent higher than pre-Covid levels in FY2020, indicating a strong rebound in air travel demand.

Despite the increase in passenger numbers, ICRA expects the Indian aviation industry to report a net loss of Rs.20,000-Rs.30,000 crore in FY2026.