India does not have a shortage of airlines. What it has is a market where one carrier dominates everything.

Today, IndiGo controls nearly 64% of the domestic market. That means 6 out of every 10 seats in India come from a single airline. No major aviation market — not the US, UK, China, or Brazil — has this level of concentration.

And with that comes fragility:
If one airline stumbles, the entire country feels the shock.

A delay, an operational glitch, a staff shortage — even a small crack in the IndiGo system can ripple into nationwide chaos because the rest of the ecosystem simply cannot absorb the load.

Why does India end up here?
As India Today highlights, the aviation business in India is brutally tough:
• High ATF taxes
• Thin operating margins
• Constant financial strain
• Limited ability for smaller airlines to scale

The economics push everyone toward a default monopoly — not because other airlines do not exist, but because only one has the scale to survive the storms.

So the paradox is clear:
India has multiple airlines, yet only one that truly carries India.

Where do you think the solution lies — bringing in more players, or building a few stronger ones capable of real competition?