MakeMyTrip Reports Air Travel Decline as Indians Shift to Road Trips

India's travel market is experiencing an unusual shift away from aviation, according to MakeMyTrip, the country's dominant online travel agency. The company reported an approximately 2% year-over-year decline in flight bookings during its most recent quarter—a contraction Group Chief Operating Officer Mohit Kabra characterized as unprecedented for the market.

Despite the aviation slowdown, MakeMyTrip emphasized that Indian consumers haven't reduced overall travel activity. Instead, they're changing how and where they go. Short-haul, drivable vacation packages and luxury intercity bus services both saw growth between 30% and 40% during the period, according to the company. Travelers also increasingly turned to intercity cab bookings as an alternative to flying.

The shift comes as Indian carriers reportedly reduce wide-body, long-haul aircraft deployment, a capacity adjustment MakeMyTrip warned could sustain elevated international airfares and constrained westbound routes beyond current geopolitical tensions affecting West Asia. The company suggested these structural aviation challenges may persist longer than immediate regional disruptions would indicate.

MakeMyTrip framed the aviation headwinds as part of a broader evolution in Indian travel preferences. The company indicated it views growth opportunities beyond the air transport sector as central to India's travel expansion, and is said to be reorganizing both its business operations and capital structure accordingly. The travel platform is also reportedly preparing details around a domestic Indian public offering, though specifics on timing and structure remain under development.

The data suggests Indian consumers are responding to constrained aviation capacity and higher ticket prices by substituting ground transportation and shifting to destinations accessible without flying—a pattern that could reshape the country's travel industry if the aviation pressures continue.