Domestic Flights in India: What Visitors Need to Know

India is large, and the regions most visitors combine are far apart. Within a region we usually drive; between regions, such as Delhi and Kerala, or the plains and Ladakh, a short domestic flight saves a day or more on the road. Our getting around India guide compares the options, and India itineraries shows how flights fit into routes of different lengths.

Two places need a second look at the ticket. The UK Foreign Office points out that Mumbai and Goa each have two airports a considerable distance apart, and Mumbai's second international airport, Navi Mumbai, was inaugurated in October 2025. Check which airport each booking names before you plan transfers.

• Your passport is your ID. It is on the list of identity documents accepted at Indian airport entry under the aviation security regulator's rules. Book in your name exactly as it appears in your passport, and keep the passport with you, not in your checked bag.
• No immigration on a domestic flight. Immigration happens when you enter and leave India, not between Indian cities. You do pass a security check before every flight.
• Through-tickets versus separate tickets. If an international flight and a domestic one are on one ticket, airlines usually transfer your bags; on separate tickets you collect your bags, clear immigration, check in again and pass security again, which takes time.

If a domestic flight is part of a trip we plan, we book it with the rest of the itinerary (train and flight bookings).

There is no single national allowance to quote: each airline sets its free checked and cabin baggage, shows it on your booking and charges for extra weight. If you arrive on an international ticket with a larger allowance than your domestic flight, pack for the smaller one or expect to pay excess at check-in. Our packing guide helps keep the bag light.

Security screening is compulsory for every passenger. In Delhi, Terminal 3 handles all international flights and some domestic ones, while Terminals 1 and 2 are domestic only; free inter-terminal shuttle buses link the three. Allow time when you connect from an international flight to a domestic one, even on the shuttle, as the UK Foreign Office advises.

In winter, dense fog can settle over northwest India: in a January 2026 bulletin the India Meteorological Department warned that it may affect some airports, highways and railway routes, and advised travellers to keep in touch with airlines and railways about their schedules. Our India in January and India in December pages cover the season.

India's aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, sets what airlines owe passengers in its Civil Aviation Requirement on denied boarding, cancellations and delays. In outline:

• Long delays. If you checked in on time, the airline must give meals and refreshments once the delay passes a threshold that rises with the length of the flight: two hours for flights of up to two and a half hours, three hours for flights of up to five, four hours for longer ones.
• Very long delays. For a domestic flight expected to leave more than six hours late, the airline must offer another flight within six hours or your money back. If the delay runs past 24 hours, or past six hours for a flight due out between 8 pm and 3 am, it must also provide a hotel, with transfers.
• Cancellations. The airline is expected to tell you a fortnight ahead and offer another flight or your money back. With less notice, the same choice applies. If you were not told in time, it must either put you on another flight you accept or pay compensation as well as returning your fare, unless the cause was beyond its control, such as bad weather.
• Overbooking. The airline must first ask for volunteers. If you are refused boarding against your will, it owes compensation based on your one-way fare unless it flies you within an hour of the original departure.
• Downgrading. If you are moved to a lower class against your will on a domestic flight, the airline must reimburse 75 per cent of the ticket cost, taxes included.

Compensation for a cancellation, and the help owed during a delay, do not apply when the cause is an extraordinary circumstance beyond the airline's control. Complain to the airline first; if that fails, the government's AirSewa app and portal take grievances.