IndiGo Leads as Most Punctual Airline in February 2025

March 27, 2025

IndiGo was the most on-time airline in India for the third month in a row, according to data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The airline had an on-time performance of 80.2 percent at four major airports: New Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Mumbai.

Following IndiGo, Akasa Air ranked second in punctuality, while the Air India Group came third, with SpiceJet in fourth place. Flight delays due to heavy fog in December and January had affected airline schedules, but overall on-time performance improved by 2-5 percent in February compared to January.

More Passengers Took to the Skies

Domestic air travel increased by 11 percent compared to last year, with 14.04 million passengers flying in February 2025. However, this was slightly lower than the 14.61 million passengers who traveled in January.

Flight Cancellations: Who Was Affected?

The overall flight cancellation rate for February was 0.63 percent, down from 0.90 percent in February 2024.

• Flybig, a regional airline, had the highest cancellation rate at 58.1 percent.
• Alliance Air followed with 4.4 percent, and IndiaOne Air had 2.55 percent.
• SpiceJet had a cancellation rate of 1.4 percent.
• IndiGo, Akasa Air, and the Air India Group had much lower cancellation rates at 0.31 percent, 0.32 percent, and 0.14 percent, respectively.

The main reasons for cancellations were:

• Technical issues (42.4%)
• Operational challenges (29.8%)
• Weather conditions (21.6%)
• Other reasons (5.9%)

Passenger Complaints and Resolutions

Passengers filed 821 complaints in February, a slight increase from 791 complaints in February 2024. Most complaints were related to flight delays and cancellations. Airlines resolved 99 percent of these complaints.

Market Share: IndiGo Remains on Top

IndiGo continues to be India’s biggest airline, but its market share dropped by 1.5 percentage points in February, settling at 63.7 percent. The airline carried 8.94 million (89.4 lakh) passengers during the month.

The Air India Group held the second-largest share with 27.3 percent, carrying 3.83 million (38.3 lakh) passengers.

Other airlines’ market shares in February:

• Akasa Air: 4.5 percent, carrying 6.58 lakh passengers
• SpiceJet: 3.2 percent, carrying 6.59 lakh passengers (unchanged from January)

SpiceJet’s market share has fallen significantly from 10.7 percent in February 2022.

How Full Were the Flights?

The passenger load factor (percentage of seats filled on flights) for major airlines in February:

• SpiceJet: 91.2%
• IndiGo: 91.7%
• Air India: 87.2%
• Akasa Air: 95.1% (highest among all)

Flight Delays and Compensation

Due to delays, cancellations, and denied boarding, airlines paid compensation to affected passengers:

• 1,744 passengers were denied boarding, and airlines paid ₹128.36 lakh in compensation.
• 18,717 passengers faced flight cancellations, with ₹24.86 lakh paid in compensation.
• 82,506 passengers were delayed, and airlines paid ₹124.44 lakh in compensation.

As airlines work to improve their performance, passenger experience remains a top priority, with a focus on reducing delays and cancellations.

Source: Moneycontrol