India’s Youngest Airline Adds Flights While Iran War Crimps Rivals

Akasa Air, India’s youngest airline, was the only carrier that added meaningful capacity in the local market in recent months, emerging as a growing threat to the IndiGo-Air India duopoly amid disruptions caused by the Iran war.

The total number of flights operated by the country’s four major airline companies dropped nearly 6% across March and April from the same period a year earlier, according to data from Cirium, an aviation analytics firm. IndiGo, the country’s largest airline, had 4.5% fewer flights, while Air India Ltd.’s full-service airline reduced services by 7.5% and its low-cost unit Air India Express did so by 17.1%.