Overview

• Airports handled 3.3 crore passengers in August 2025, up about 1% year on year, with international flyers at 66.73 lakh, up 7.7%, according to AAI.
• Domestic passenger count totaled 2.64 crore in August, down 0.5% from a year earlier on AAI data, reflecting softer home-market demand.
• ICRA separately estimates domestic traffic at 13.17 million for August, a marginal 0.3% increase year on year, with industry capacity deployment down 5.8%.
• ICRA lowered its FY26 growth forecasts to 4–6% for domestic travel and 13–15% for international, and now expects sector net losses of Rs 9,500–10,500 crore versus Rs 5,500 crore in FY25.
• Operational and cost headwinds persist, including earlier engine-linked groundings (about 133 aircraft as of March 31, improving to roughly 40 by June), high fuel burdens, dollar-linked expenses, and crew shortages.