Airports become key battleground for cab companies after BluSmart closure

With BluSmart suspending metro operations, Uber, Rapido, and others are intensifying their push into high-growth airport routes, driven by a steady rise in domestic air passenger traffic

With BluSmart's sudden exit from key metro markets, a fierce battle is unfolding among cab aggregators — not across entire cities, but at the gates of India’s bustling airports. The airport segment, once a niche, has quickly emerged as a high-value, high-growth category, drawing renewed focus from players like Uber, Rapido and Evera Cabs.

 

Data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation show that domestic air passenger traffic increased 6.12 per cent year-on-year in 2024 to 161.3 million, compared to 152 million in 2023. On a monthly basis, in March this year, domestic airlines ferried 14.5 million passengers as against