Delhi Airport News: International Traffic Grows 2% as India Falls 7.1%
Delhi Airport News
India’s international passenger traffic declined 7.1% between April and September 2026, with Delhi and Vijayawada emerging as the only airports among 51 surveyed by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to record growth.
According to AAI’s half-yearly Air Traffic Report released on Wednesday, domestic passenger traffic fell 1.9%, while overall passenger traffic declined 2.9% compared with the corresponding period last year.
International flight movements dropped 6.7%, while domestic flight movements decreased 2.7%.
Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport handled 10,376,225 international passengers during the six-month period, up from 10,170,349 a year earlier, marking growth of approximately 2%. The introduction of new international routes contributed to the increase.
Vijayawada recorded the highest growth rate among the airports surveyed, with international passenger numbers rising 79.6% to 24,495 from 13,639 in the same period last year. Its international operations currently connect Singapore and Sharjah, with both routes operating three times a week.
The report attributed the broader decline in international travel partly to geopolitical tensions in West Asia, which disrupted airline operations and led to cancellations on several routes connecting India with the region.
Despite the decline in passenger traffic, India’s overall air cargo traffic increased 11.7% during April–September 2026, with international cargo contributing significantly to the growth.
Ajeet Yadav is an aviation enthusiast covering airline news, airports, aircraft, and industry developments through well-researched and reliable reporting.
