The domestic airport rankings in India have seen quite a churn in April and none of it looks linked to the West Asia war as has been the case with most other things in Indian aviation. The latest Airports Authority of India (AAI) passenger traffic data for April 2026 reveals two major developments that could redefine the country’s airport hierarchy over the coming years: Bengaluru has overtaken CSMIA, Mumbai to claim the number two spot in domestic air traffic in India, while Navi Mumbai has already entered India’s top 10 domestic aviation markets even before reaching full operational maturity and within six months of starting operations.
Both trends point toward a larger transformation underway in Indian aviation — one driven by infrastructure constraints, airline strategy shifts, urban expansion, and changing passenger demand patterns.
Bengaluru Is No Longer Just Catching Up
In 2008-9, Mumbai lost the tag of busiest airport in the country to Delhi. Driven by capacity, both terminal and runway side, Delhi could handle more movements and passengers while Mumbai struggled to expand with its limited single runway operations. As capacity shifted between Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, after the start of operations of NMIA, Bengaluru has now overtaken CSMIA, Mumbai to be the second busiest airport in the country by domestic traffic. Combined traffic at CSMIA and NMIA which cater to Mumbai city remains higher than Bengaluru and will continue to be so, yet at an airport level this shift is momentous for Bengaluru.
The domestic footfalls in April were as below for the top three airports in India.
- Delhi: 49.29 lakh
- Bengaluru: 31.78 lakh
- Mumbai: 28.93 lakh
This is not the first time that Bengaluru has surpassed Mumbai, but the first time in normal operating conditions. During the pandemic times, Bengaluru has been ahead of Mumbai but there were city specific restrictions in place and curtailment of traffic at Mumbai.
Bengaluru had already surpassed CSMIA, Mumbai by air traffic movements (ATM) in the earlier months. However, Bengaluru has higher movements of turboprop ATR aircraft, while Mumbai has negligible presence of smaller aircraft. This thus translates into higher seats per departure at Mumbai, with a higher total seats on offer than Bengaluru, until the shift in April where airlines (mainly IndiGo), shifted some of their flights to Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA).
Bengaluru is aided by availability of infrastructure, with a new terminal, apron and two parallel runways. Additionally, the airport has seen addition of flights by Air India Express as the Air India group uses it as a southern gateway and consolidates its presence at Bengaluru by shifting flights from Hyderabad and Chennai.
Navi Mumbai enters the top 10 domestic rankings
Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) which began operations in the last week of December last year has entered the top 10 domestic rankings closing April at ninth position. The airline saw a sudden spike in services starting the Northern Summer schedule, which began on the last Sunday of March. Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) has been starved of airline capacity for at least a decade if not more and the availability of increased capacity led to airlines, especially IndiGo gobbling up the available slots immediately. April saw 5.24 lakh passengers arrive and depart at NMIA, helping the airport reach ninth position.
Over the next year, NMIA will further climb these rankings pushing out one or two more airports. The Adani group, which operates CSMIA as well as NMIA, has planned for reconstruction of Terminal 1 at CSMIA. When that takes place, airlines will move their operations to NMIA which will see the airport have another spurt in traffic.
Network Thoughts
CSMIA, Mumbai will continue to hold its edge on the international front with Bengaluru lagging significantly by numbers. The shift from Mumbai to Navi Mumbai for international services will also be resisted by airlines until the connectivity woes are addressed, something beyond the direct control of the airport operator. The total traffic, thus, would continue to see Mumbai occupy the second spot. International services do not start because of availability of infrastructure but are governed by complex Bilateral Air Services Agreements (BASA).
The structural changes in Indian aviation will see a new ecosystem emerge over the years with multiple airports at Delhi and Mumbai on the lines of London, Tokyo or New York. Navi Mumbai offers new slots, lower congestion leading to faster turnarounds and this could help carriers like Akasa Air get a footing in the market. The airport has already helped newer routes and more will be in the offing.
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