SpiceJet’s on-time performance crashed to just 34.5 percent in July, according to fresh Directorate General of Civil Aviation data, trailing well behind the rest of the industry.

IndiGo posted the strongest on-time record at 91.2 percent, with Akasa Air close behind at 90.8 percent, while Air India recorded 86.5 percent for the month.

The gap comes even as overall domestic air passenger traffic dropped nearly 5 percent year-on-year in July, with Indian carriers flying around 1.2 crore passengers.

IndiGo remained the dominant domestic player with a 67.4 percent market share and 80.82 lakh passengers, while the Air India group held a 24 percent share with 28.75 lakh passengers.

SpiceJet’s market share has shrunk to just 1.6 percent, with only 1.87 lakh passengers carried in July, a steep fall from the airline’s earlier standing in the market.

The figures extend a difficult year for SpiceJet, which continues to face scrutiny over operational reliability while IndiGo and Akasa Air post consistently strong punctuality numbers.

Overall flight cancellation rates across Indian carriers stood at 0.62 percent in July, with technical issues accounting for nearly 40 percent of all cancellations.

Among airports, Chennai recorded the best on-time performance overall at 96.7 percent in July, followed by Bengaluru at 94 percent and Hyderabad at 92.4 percent.

IndiGo carried 80.82 lakh passengers in July, giving it a dominant 67.4 percent share of the domestic market, well ahead of the Air India group’s 24 percent share.

Akasa Air carried 6.65 lakh passengers for a 5.5 percent market share in July, while SpiceJet’s share slipped further to just 1.6 percent with 1.87 lakh passengers.

DGCA’s on-time performance data covers 10 major airports, including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Cochin, Guwahati and Lucknow.

Under DGCA’s criteria, a flight is classified as delayed if its departure is more than 15 minutes behind the scheduled time.

Photo by Rehman Abubakr, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Akasa Air founder and CEO Vinay Dube has backed a government proposal that would let airport operators own and run their own airlines.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation is considering the change, which would relax the current cap limiting airport operators to a 10 per cent stake in any airline.

Dube said he supported the move, framing the priority as giving consumers more choice in India’s aviation sector.

IndiGo co-founder Rahul Bhatia has pushed back against the proposal, calling it a ‘massive conflict of interest’ since airport operators control the allocation of slots, parking bays and other infrastructure to airlines.

Bhatia, speaking on an investor call, said there was no global precedent for the arrangement and argued it would ultimately work against, not for, consumers.

Adani Group, which runs Mumbai and seven other airports, and GMR Airports, which operates Delhi and four others, are viewed as the likeliest beneficiaries, although Adani has denied plans to enter the airline business.

Media reports of the proposal first emerged from discussions involving GMR and Adani groups seeking regulatory changes, prompting the current round of public debate among aviation industry executives.

The government has not yet indicated a timeline for finalising a decision on whether to relax the ownership cap for airport operators.

Any change to the current ownership cap would require legal clearance from the law ministry and approval from the Union Cabinet before it could take effect.

Under existing rules, operators of major airports such as Delhi and Mumbai are capped at holding no more than a 10 per cent stake in any airline.

Adani Group, which operates Mumbai and seven other airports, and GMR Airports, which manages Delhi and four others, are seen as the most likely beneficiaries if the ownership cap is relaxed.

The proposal comes at a time when IndiGo and Air India together control nearly 90 per cent of India’s domestic aviation capacity, following a wave of consolidation in recent years.

Photo by Krish Aarush, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

The India Meteorological Department has issued a heavy rain warning for Delhi, Chandigarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Punjab and Uttarakhand for Saturday, August 22.

The IMD forecast fairly widespread to widespread rainfall over Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh, with thunderstorms expected across Uttarakhand, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.

Delhi itself is forecast to see a generally cloudy sky with one or two spells of very light to light rain at many places, and moderate rain at isolated locations through the day.

Conditions of this kind, combining sustained rainfall with reduced visibility around the Delhi-NCR region, have repeatedly prompted airlines operating out of Indira Gandhi International Airport to issue passenger advisories warning of possible delays during this year’s monsoon season.

Airlines have typically responded to similar spells by advising passengers to check flight status before heading to the airport and to allow extra travel time, given the potential for air traffic control-driven delays during heavy rain.

The IMD’s warning remains in effect for Saturday, with the wider weather system also bringing rain to several other northern and eastern states through the day.

Airlines including IndiGo, Air India and SpiceJet have previously cited a combination of low cloud cover, gusty winds and lightning activity as factors that can force temporary holds on takeoffs and landings at busy hubs like Delhi.

Passengers travelling through affected regions today have been encouraged to monitor their airline’s official app or website rather than relying solely on scheduled departure times printed on their tickets.

Ground handling teams at major airports typically remain on standby during such alerts to manage passenger queries and rebook travellers affected by weather-related schedule changes.

The current spell of rain follows a broader pattern this monsoon season, in which Delhi-NCR has already seen multiple rounds of IMD alerts accompanied by airline advisories warning of possible delays.

Airport authorities have said flight operations generally remain normal even during active weather warnings, though individual flights can still be affected depending on the intensity of rain or wind at the exact time of takeoff or landing.

Travellers connecting through Delhi to other cities have been advised to build in extra buffer time between flights, given the possibility of knock-on delays if an earlier weather-affected flight runs late.

Photo by Ravi Dwivedi, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0