Domestic air passenger traffic fell 4.8% to 12 million in July from 12.6 million last year, with most major airlines also reporting lower passenger load factors, according to Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) data released on Thursday.Domestic air passenger traffic declined in July, with IndiGo retaining its market lead and recording the highest on-time performance among scheduled domestic airlines (PTI/Representational image)Domestic air traffic slips in July despite marginal yearly growthDespite the July decline, passenger traffic during the first seven months of 2026 remained marginally higher than in the corresponding period last year.Indian airlines carried 98.4 million passengers during January-July, compared with 97.78 million a year earlier, an increase of 0.64%.IndiGo, India’s largest airline, carried 8.08 million passengers in July, down from 8.92 million in June. The Air India Group, comprising Air India and Air India Express, carried 2.88 million passengers, compared with 3.22 million in June.Also read: Govt likely to increase random drug testing from 10% to 25% of flight crewAkasa Air carried 665,000 passengers in July, down from 861,000 in June, while SpiceJet carried 187,000, compared with 263,000 in the previous month.Despite the fall in passenger numbers, IndiGo’s market share rose to 67.4% in July from 66.3% in June, while the Air India Group’s share edged up to 24% from 23.9%.Akasa Air’s market share fell to 5.5% from 6.4%, while SpiceJet’s declined to 1.6% from 1.9%.Airlines see mixed load factors as cancellations remain limitedThe passenger load factor –– the proportion of available seats occupied –– declined for IndiGo, the Air India Group and Akasa Air during the month. SpiceJet was the exception, with its load factor rising to 74.7% in July from 73.2% in June.The overall cancellation rate of scheduled domestic airlines was 0.62% in July. Technical issues accounted for 39.9% of cancellations, followed by operational reasons at 27.4% and weather-related disruptions at 22.7%, according to the DGCA.Also read: ‘Unbearably hot’: SpiceJet passengers suffer for hours after AC fails on Delhi-Pune flightIndiGo leads on-time performance among major carriersIndiGo recorded the highest on-time performance (OTP) among scheduled domestic airlines at 10 major airports, at 91.2%, followed by Akasa Air at 90.8% and the Air India Group at 88.5%.Also read: IndiGo’s transition plan with network carrier has one risk too many: ‘Unrealistic ambitions’Alliance Air recorded an OTP of 76%, while SpiceJet had the lowest at 34.6%.The airports covered in the OTP assessment were Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Cochin, Guwahati and Lucknow.