Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) has overtaken Mumbai’s Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) in Domestic Air Traffic Movements (ATMs) in October 2025, shows data by Airports Authority of India. This is not the first time that it has happened, with March this year also seeing a similar trend, but the footfall numbers between the two airports are now closer than what they were in March.
October saw Bengaluru record 20,819 domestic ATMs while Mumbai recorded 20,540 domestic ATMs. In September, Bengaluru saw 18884 while Mumbai saw 19524.The difference was wider in the previous months. Mumbai remains firmly in command on the international side with 8017 ATMs in October, while Bengaluru recorded 3674. Mumbai recorded a footfall of 32,18,840 domestic passengers in October, while Bengaluru saw 31,21,242. The difference between the two being just 97598 over the entire month or around 3150 passengers per day. Bengaluru, even with higher ATMs, has a lower passenger footfall because the airline has a good number of turboprop and regional operations, unlike Mumbai where the scheduled turboprop operation is close to nil, barring SpiceJet and Alliance Air having skeletal schedules.
Mumbai has been struggling to add capacity as it has exhausted all options for expansion. Airlines have been deploying higher capacity aircraft like the A321 on routes to and from Mumbai to add capacity. This also is the reason why Mumbai continues to have more footfalls than Bengaluru with lower movements. Bengaluru, on the other hand, has been expanding rapidly with capacity addition on both terminal as well as runway front. The second runway, second terminal and expanded apron space has meant giving airlines the ability to add flights from the third largest airport in the country. Air India Express’ focus on Bengaluru, IndiGo’s dominant position and availability of slots have been the key factors that have driven the increase in ATM at Bengaluru in recent months.
What next?
As Navi Mumbai International Airport opens next month, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region will get the much needed capacity. However, CSMIA plans to demolish Terminal 1 and rebuild it over the next couple of years. As a city, Mumbai will maintain the edge over Bengaluru; while as a single airport Bengaluru will definitely overtake CSMIA, Mumbai domestically. International is a hard game to match with Delhi and Mumbai in position to maintain the Number one and two positions.
Data shared by Cirium, an aviation analytics company, exclusively for this blog post shows that Bengaluru and Mumbai are neck to neck with Bengaluru likely to edge past Mumbai in seats on offer early next year. With Indian carriers making multiple last minute changes to the schedule, what happens in 2026 needs to be seen with caution at this moment.
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