Adani Group plans Rs 1 lakh crore aviation push, eyes aggressive bids for 11 airports

The Adani Group is planning a Rs 1 lakh crore investment in its airports business over the next five years, signalling a major expansion push as it bets on sustained growth in India’s aviation sector. Jeet Adani, director of Adani Airports, said the group was “very bullish” on the long-term prospects of aviation in India, citing low per-capita air travel and strong demand growth across multiple cities. Speaking ahead of the launch of commercial operations at Navi Mumbai International Airport, he said the broader aviation ecosystem could grow at 15–16% annually for the next decade or more.

“On the airport side, Rs 1 lakh crore in the next five years,” Adani said, adding that even reaching China’s per-capita air travel levels would require significant capacity expansion across the country.

Navi Mumbai airport to ease Mumbai bottleneck

Navi Mumbai International Airport is scheduled to begin commercial operations on December 25, marking a key milestone for the group’s airport portfolio. The project is being developed by Navi Mumbai International Airport Ltd, in which the Adani Group holds a 74% stake.

Built at an initial cost of Rs 19,650 crore, the airport’s first phase will have the capacity to handle 20 million passengers a year, with plans to scale up to 90 million passengers over time.

Adani said the new airport would relieve long-standing capacity constraints at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. “Mumbai Airport was supply-constrained from 2016 onwards and wasn’t able to service the additional demand that was coming through,” he said, describing the commissioning of Navi Mumbai as overdue relief for the city.

Calling the opening a landmark moment, he said the project still had substantial headroom. “There is four times growth still left to do,” he noted.

Aggressive bidding strategy

Beyond Mumbai, the Adani Group currently operates airports in Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram, Jaipur and Mangaluru, and had earlier acquired the Mumbai airport from the GVK Group.

Jeet Adani said the group plans to bid “very aggressively” for all 11 airports identified for the next round of privatisation, underlining its ambition to consolidate its position in airport infrastructure further.

Through Adani Airport Holdings Ltd, the group is now India’s largest airport operator, accounting for about 23% of passenger traffic and roughly 33% of cargo movement nationwide.

Beyond runways, terminals

On potential investments in aircraft services such as maintenance, repair and overhaul facilities and flight simulation training centres, Adani said it was too early to commit specific figures. However, he emphasised the group’s intent to deepen its capabilities across the aviation value chain.

Alongside capacity upgrades, the company is also expanding non-aeronautical services and city-side developments at its airports, aiming to diversify revenue streams beyond core aviation operations.

Taken together, the planned investment and aggressive bidding strategy underline the Adani Group’s intent to play a central role in shaping the next phase of India’s aviation expansion.