The Delhi – Mumbai sector has made it to the top 10 routes worldwide for another year. As we turn the calendar from 2025 to 2026, here is a look at the top 10 routes in India this January 2026.
The Delhi – Mumbai – Delhi route remains the top route in the country by a distance compared to the second busiest which is Delhi – Bengaluru – Delhi. The Mumbai – Bengaluru – Mumbai routes comes in third. Six out of top 10 routes have Delhi as the common link, while four have Mumbai as the common link. The only route which has neither Mumbai nor Delhi is the Bengaluru – Hyderabad – Bengaluru route. There are two non-metro routes in the equation, viz. Delhi – Pune – Delhi at sixth position and Delhi – Ahmedabad – Delhi at eighth position, with the rest being amongst the six metro cities.
How do airlines stack up?
Post merger of Vistara with Air India, Air India has overtaken IndiGo on some key routes and has increased frequency on many others. From what was a clear win for IndiGo post Jet Airways suspension and pre Air India privatisation is now number two on the top two routes and Air India group is neck to neck on many others.
Network Thoughts
Over the years, Indian aviation has expanded beyond the top six metro’s, however that does not take away the importance of these six cities and for airlines they are an year round assured traffic points.
Do you see any changes to the top 10 routes in near future?
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