IndiGo emerges as lone profit engine: Govt tells Parl

The Centre on Thursday listed three years of financial data in Parliament showing deep and persistent losses for almost every carrier, except IndiGo, which has emerged as the only airline reporting massive profits even as the rest of the industry continues to bleed.

Responding to a question, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol, in a written reply in Lok Sabha, placed airline-wise profit and loss figures for FY 2022-23 to FY 2024-25 on record. The numbers expose an industry still struggling to regain altitude, with IndiGo’s performance standing in stark contrast to the turbulence faced by its competitors.

For FY 2023-24, IndiGo posted a staggering Rs 81,674.9 million in net profit, followed by another Rs 72,533 million profit provisionally in FY 2024-25, a rare run of back-to-back profitability in a sector known for thin margins. In comparison, almost every other scheduled airline remained in the red.

Air India reported losses of Rs 44,441 million in 2023-24 and Rs 39,757.5 million in 2024-25. Akasa Air, despite aggressive expansion, also posted consecutive losses. Regional operators too reflected similar stress, with Alliance Air and FlyBig both recording year-after-year deficits. SpiceJet, caught in a prolonged financial storm, reported a steep Rs 15,131.3 million loss in 2022-23 before narrowing it marginally in the subsequent years.

The financial figures for the current fiscal (2025-26) remain unavailable as the year is still underway.

The reply further revealed that domestic passenger traffic has indeed slowed. Data from FY 2022-23 through September 2025 confirms a year-on-year dip, with month-wise numbers showing repeated periods of contraction.

This marks a reversal from the post-pandemic boom that airlines had relied on to offset rising costs. The softening demand comes at a time when fares remain elevated and input costs, particularly ATF, continue to pressure balance sheets.