AIRPORTS: SWANKY GATEWAYS OF INDIA

As more and more airports get privatised, there are fears that a monopoly will emerge. How true is this?

- SHOBHA JOHN

One of the factors that will spur the growth of India's aviation sector is airports.

While earlier all airports in India were under the control of the Airports Authority of India (AAI), now we see their increasing privatisation, leading to conglomerates such as GMR, Adani, etc, having majority stake in them. The newest airports are Navi Mumbai and Jewar in UP. According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, from 2023-2024, departing domestic passengers were 153.7 million, while from 2024-2025, it was 165.5 million, a 7.7 per cent rise. By FY2026, airports are expected to have a handling capacity of around 550 million passengers per annum (mppa), which could grow to about 850 mppa within five years. The government has ambitious plans of building 50 new airports over the next five years and expanding the present network of 163 airports.

And it is with this aim that the earlier rule of no greenfield airport within an aerial distance of 150 km of an existing civilian airport is being done away with. Civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu reportedly said that once capacity is saturated, the clause no longer applies. “The policy ensures the operational stability of the first airport, but it does not restrict the development of another airport once capacity has been saturated,” he said.

Naidu was also quoted as saying: “In 2025, Indian carriers inducted 80 planes. This year, 106 more aircraft are expected to be inducted. For the next 10-15 years, Indian carriers will induct about 100 aircraft annually given the orders of airlines like Al Group, IndiGo and Akasa.” He added that due to new age infrastructure being rapidly created, travelers from nearby countries can fly here and take connecting flights to other parts of the world. “India has the airports required for the job and our airlines are getting there with the right policies in place,” he said.