India, Aug. 28 -- India's airlines may face deeper losses next year due to a slowdown in air travel growth, rating agency ICRA (Investment Information and Credit Rating Agency) said on Thursday.

The agency has cut its forecast for the financial year (FY) 2026, stating that domestic passenger traffic is expected to rise by only 4-6% to around 172-176 million fliers, down from its earlier projection of 7-10% growth.

With airlines adding more planes while demand grows slower than expected, industry losses are likely to swell to Rs.95-105 billion, compared with Rs.5.5 billion in FY2025, it said.

ICRA said that passenger traffic in the first quarter of FY2026 grew only 4.4% compared to last year, slowed down by flight disruptions caused by ...