Tale of two airports: Why Delhi’s IGI stagnated in 2025 while Mumbai’s CSMIA hit new highs

• Delhi airport's 2025 passenger numbers flat due to repairs and disruptions.
• Mumbai airport saw record traffic in 2025, handling 55.5 million passengers
• India's overall air travel grew, with domestic and international numbers rising

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For the first time in this millennium, barring the Covid-19 years and the 2008 global financial crisis, Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) did not record growth in passenger numbers on a year-on-year basis in 2025.

The airport handled around 7.8 crore passengers last calendar year, almost the same as in 2024. Both years were still higher than 2023, which saw 7.2 crore passengers, marking an increase of 8.3% over that year.

Meanwhile, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) in Mumbai handled a total of 55.5 million passengers in calendar year 2025, marking a year-on-year increase of 1.3% over 54.8 million in 2024 and a 7.6% rise over 2023 figures.

Why Delhi airport’s growth slowed

Several reasons contributed to IGIA’s flat passenger traffic in 2025. One major factor was the temporary shutdown of its main runway and terminals for repairs, which affected flight operations for several months. In addition, 32 airports across north and central India were closed for a few days in May during Operation Sindoor, disrupting air travel in the region.

Another important reason was the continued closure of Pakistan’s airspace to Indian airlines. This forced longer flight routes, especially on western international sectors, many of which operate through Delhi. The impact was felt more strongly at IGIA than at other airports.

The situation worsened after the Air India AI 171 crash, following which the airline cut down on flights. Later in the year, IndiGo also faced a major schedule disruption in December. Since both Air India and IndiGo use Delhi as their main hub, any reduction in their operations directly affected IGIA’s passenger numbers.

Mumbai airport breaks records

In contrast, Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) reported its highest-ever passenger traffic in 2025. The airport handled 55.5 million passengers during the year. Domestic traffic stood at 39.2 million, while international passengers numbered 16.3 million.

Air traffic movements (ATMs) at Mumbai airport also reached new highs, with 3,31,011 movements recorded in 2025. This included 92,141 international and 2,38,870 domestic movements. The busiest day was November 21, when 1,036 aircraft movements were recorded. Overall, ATMs were about 25% higher than in 2022.

Mumbai airport also expanded its network during the year by launching new international routes to cities such as Bali, Copenhagen, Manchester, and Amman. New domestic routes were added to smaller cities including Jharsuguda, Solapur, and Porbandar.

Across India, air travel continued to grow despite Delhi’s slowdown. DGCA data shows that between January and November 2025, domestic air travel rose by 4.8% to 15.3 crore passengers. International travel also grew, with 5.7 crore passengers recorded between January and September, a 7.5% increase over the same period in 2024.

IGIA has the capacity to handle over 10.5 crore passengers annually but has not yet crossed the 8-crore mark. Airlines hope this pause will allow Delhi Airport Authority Ltd (DIAL) to address long-standing issues such as poor connectivity between terminals. Plans for an air train remain pending, and until an automated people mover is built, many passengers will continue to travel nearly 9 km by road between terminals.