SpiceJet on-time performance falls to 34.5% in July, DGCA data reveals

SpiceJet’s on-time performance fell to just 34.5 percent in July, according to newly released Directorate General of Civil Aviation data, lagging far behind the rest of the industry.

IndiGo posted the best on-time record among carriers 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 emerged even as overall domestic air passenger traffic declined nearly 5 percent year-on-year in July, with Indian airlines carrying around 1.2 crore passengers.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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