Northern Winter Schedule 2025 kicks in with 3,785 daily departures approved; IndiGo adds the most flights while passenger traffic tops 5.2 lakh on day one.
Airlines Expand Flights Operations Across Domestic Routes
India’s Northern Winter Schedule 2025 came into effect on 26 October, promising higher capacity and shifting airline deployments as carriers reshuffle slots for the October–March season. The schedule has approvals for an average of 3,785 daily departures (26,495 weekly flights), but carriers operated 3,284 departures on the first day — about 86.7% of the approved average. Domestic passenger traffic crossed 5.2 lakh on day one, the highest daily figure since February and just shy of the all-time single-day record.
Market leader IndiGo gained the largest increase in approvals, with 1,323 more weekly flights than last winter, effectively adding capacity comparable to a full regional carrier. Low-cost and regional carriers also saw shifts: SpiceJet and Akasa Air secured significant weekly allocations, while Air India’s allocations shrink by about 10% and Air India Express grows by 11% in the new plan.
The schedule change means connectivity gains and losses across secondary airports: new or returning operational airports include Amravati, Purnea, Hissar and Rupsi, while some smaller fields such as Aligarh, Moradabad, Chitrakoot, Shravasti and Ludhiana lost scheduled services. Industry observers expect capacity to shift further as carriers operationalise allocations, wet-lease aircraft are inducted and grounded planes are returned to service.
