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Peak travel month hit as crew shortage leads to mass flight cancellations across India
Kempegowda International Airport (KIA), Bengaluru, witnessed a noticeable fall in domestic passenger traffic in December 2025, a month that usually records high travel volumes, due to widespread flight cancellations by IndiGo.
Data released by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) shows that the airport handled 3,133,697 passengers in December 2025, down from 3,279,765 passengers in November 2025. This marks a reduction of 1,46,068 domestic passengers within a single month.
The decline came even as December is considered one of the busiest travel periods, particularly for domestic flyers. The drop has been attributed mainly to extended disruptions in IndiGo’s flight operations, both in Bengaluru and across the country.
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IndiGo faced operational challenges in December due to overstretching of its flight crew, leading to multiple days of flight cancellations. During the peak of the disruption, over 100 flights were cancelled on several days in the Bengaluru sector, while more than 150 flights were cancelled on other days nationwide.
The worst-hit day was December 6, when 175 flights were cancelled.
The impact was also visible in aircraft movement numbers. In December 2025, KIA recorded 19,202 domestic aircraft movements, compared to 20,041 flights in November 2025, meaning 839 fewer domestic flights operated.
When compared year-on-year, the figures show a slight decline. In December 2024, the airport handled 3,160,515 domestic passengers, making the difference between December 2025 and December 2024 -0.8%.
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Similarly, domestic aircraft movements stood at 19,890 in December 2024, indicating a 3.5% drop in December 2025.
AAI’s annual data for 2025 shows that November was the strongest month for domestic travel at KIA, with 3,279,765 passengers and 20,041 flights, the highest for the year.
In contrast, February recorded the lowest traffic, with 2,809,028 passengers and 17,224 flights.
