IndiGo's December 2025 Crisis: Passenger Numbers Plummet 12% Amid Flight Disruptions
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Tuesday released domestic air traffic data revealing the severe impact of IndiGo's operational crisis in December 2025. The airline carried 85.2 lakh domestic passengers during the month, marking a significant decline of almost 12% compared to November 2025's 96.9 lakh passengers.
December 2025: A Month of Disruption and Decline
This downturn represented a similar decrease from the 96.1 lakh passengers flown during the same month in 2024. The disruption had broader implications for India's aviation sector, with December 2025 seeing 4.1% fewer domestic flyers across all airlines at 1.43 crore, compared to 1.49 crore in December 2024.
In sheer numerical terms, IndiGo flew 11.7 lakh fewer domestic passengers in December 2025 than in the preceding month. Considering December typically sees a passenger surge due to holiday travel—IndiGo experienced a 6% jump in December 2024—the actual impact was even more substantial. Without the disruption, December 2025 could have been the first month when IndiGo's domestic carriage crossed the one crore mark.
Annual Performance: Growth Amid Challenges
Despite December's setbacks, India's domestic air traffic for the entire calendar year 2025 registered 3.5% growth, reaching 16.7 crore passengers compared to 16.1 crore in 2024. This growth occurred despite multiple challenges throughout the year, including:
- The closure of 32 airports in north and central India during Operation Sindoor
- The AI 171 crash
- The IndiGo operational crisis
Market Share Dynamics: IndiGo Strengthens Position
Remarkably, IndiGo's domestic market share actually increased to 64% for calendar year 2025, up from 61.9% in 2024. The airline achieved a significant milestone by crossing the 10-crore passenger mark for the first time, carrying 10.7 crore domestic passengers compared to 9.99 crore in 2024.
The competitive landscape for 2025 showed:
- IndiGo: 64% market share
- Air India Group: 27% market share
- Akasa: 5.1% market share
- Smaller airlines: Remaining 3.9% share
Operational Challenges and Government Response
While IndiGo maintains its flights were disrupted between December 3 and 5, industry sources indicate cancellations lasted for at least 7-8 days beyond that timeline. Following the disruption, the government responded by cutting IndiGo's flights for the winter schedule.
The airline faces additional uncertainty as its exemption from stricter pilot duty rules ends on February 10. How quickly IndiGo can return to its November 2025 operational levels remains to be seen.
On-Time Performance: Air India Group Leads
According to DGCA data for December 2025, the Air India group topped domestic on-time performance at 66.3%, followed by IndiGo at 62.7%, with other airlines trailing behind. This performance metric highlights the operational challenges IndiGo faced during its December crisis period.
