Delhi airport climbs to 24th in megahub rankings, Mumbai falls to 44th

Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) has climbed to 24th place in the latest ranking of global "megahub" airports, up from its previous 25th position, according to international aviation analytics firm OAG. This ranking identifies airports with the highest ratio of scheduled international connections relative to the destinations they serve.

The other Indian airport in the top 50, Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), has slipped 10 places, now sitting at 44th compared to last year.

However, both Delhi and Mumbai airports fare better in OAG’s ranking of megahub airports for low-cost carrier (LCC) operations. Thanks to IndiGo, the Delhi airport rose to 5th place, up from 6th last year, while Mumbai maintained its position at 11th.

 

Top global megahubs

Globally, the top five megahubs are London Heathrow, Kuala Lumpur International, Tokyo-Haneda, Amsterdam Schiphol, and Seoul’s Incheon Airport.

The Kuala Lumpur International leads the LCC megahub category, followed by Manila Ninoy Aquino International, Incheon, and Singapore Changi Airport.

IndiGo operates 39 per cent of flights at Delhi airport and 41 per cent at Mumbai, as per OAG data. Delhi's total LCC connections are 11,099 across 156 destinations, while Mumbai has 8,461 connections over 127 destinations. In terms of overall flight connections, Delhi records 21,781, compared to 12,849 at Mumbai.

OAG's rankings are based on flight data from the 100 largest global and international airports, considering their total scheduled seats for the year spanning September 2023 to August 2024.

Indian aviation sector

India, now the world's third-largest aviation market behind the US and China, is among the fastest-growing. The Indian aviation sector aims to see domestic carriers dominate international traffic to and from the country, with a vision to establish major airports like Delhi and Mumbai as international hubs, competing with key Asian hubs such as Dubai, Doha, Kuala Lumpur, and Singapore.

In recent years, hubs in West and Southeast Asia have captured a significant share of Indian international travelers, with their home carriers playing a major role. However, with the rise of IndiGo and the expansion of the Air India group, India is looking to reclaim market share and position its airports as global aviation hubs