May 2026 turned out to be one of the busiest months for Indian aviation sector, with packed schedules and full flights becoming the norm across the country.
According to the domestic passenger traffic data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), more than 1.5 crore passengers flew within India during the month. This marks nearly 10% growth compared to the same period last year. The summer holiday season played a major role in driving this surge in demand for air travel. Amid this heavy traffic, one might assume that India's biggest metro airports - Delhi, Mumbai, or Bengaluru - would dominate the charts. But what if we tell you that you are wrong. The DGCA's report shows something else. It was Chennai International Airport that emerged on top, clocking an impressive On-Time Performance (OTP) of 92.2%, the best among the 10 major airports assessed in May 2026. Also Read: When Erling Haaland Nearly Erased a Swedish Region From the Internet Following Chennai on the list was Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata at 84.7%, and Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad close behind at 84.4%. Kempegowda International Airport in Bangalore came in fourth with 82.3%, while Kochi International Airport rounded out the top five at 81.5 percent. To everyone's surprise, the airports most people would expect to top such a list found themselves further down. Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi stood at 72.6%, while Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai came in last among the 10 airports, at 70.5%.
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Beyond airport-wise performance, the DGCA report also flagged some concerning numbers around passenger inconvenience. As many as 63,723 passengers were affected by flight cancellations in May, prompting airlines to pay out INR 70.32 lakh in compensation. Flight delays proved to be an even bigger issue, impacting more than 1.77 lakh passengers, with airlines spending over INR 4.24 crore on facilitation. Additionally, around 900 passengers were denied boarding during the month, costing carriers INR 98.60 lakh in compensation and facilities.When it came to airline-wise OTP performance, IndiGo led the pack with 82.8%, followed by Akasa Air at 78.3% and the Air India Group at 74.5%. Alliance Air posted 70.5%, while SpiceJet lagged significantly behind at just 26.5 percent.
As Indian aviation continues its post-pandemic boom, these numbers offer a revealing snapshot of how smaller, well-managed airports like Chennai are outperforming the country's traditional aviation giants.
