Adani Airports has ruled out entering the airline business, with Chief Executive Officer Arun Bansal saying competing with the airports’ own customers would not be a sound strategy. The statement places the group’s aviation expansion focus firmly on airport operations and capacity rather than air services.
Bansal made the comments at the Aviation India and South Asia 2026 conference in New Delhi on Tuesday, in response to a question about whether the Adani Group planned to enter the airline sector. “Never a good strategy to compete with your customers,” he said, according to PTI, as reported by Business Standard.
The clarification comes after reports that the Adani Group was interested in entering the airline business. The group had denied those reports. Bansal also said Adani Airports Holdings and the wider Adani Group should be considered separately in this context.
Adani Airport Holdings currently operates eight airports, including Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Jaipur, Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram and Mangaluru, along with Navi Mumbai International Airport. The company handles around 100 million passengers annually across its network, according to Bansal.
The airport operator expects passenger volumes across its network to reach 300 million over the next decade. That target reflects the company’s stated strategy of expanding airport infrastructure as India’s aviation market grows. Bansal said Adani Airports would also participate in the privatisation process for airports, indicating that future growth will include potential additions to its existing network.
The company is separately working to increase airside capacity at Mumbai airport, one of the country’s busiest aviation hubs. Bansal said renovation work at Terminal 1 is expected to be completed in early 2030. The project is part of the airport’s ongoing capacity and facility improvement programme, although the statement did not provide further details on the scale or cost of the work.
For passengers and airlines, the operator’s position keeps the relationship between the airport owner and its airline customers at the centre of the company’s stated business model. Airports depend on airlines to generate passenger traffic, while airlines depend on airport capacity, terminals and airside infrastructure to expand operations. Adani Airports’ decision means the group will seek growth through that infrastructure relationship rather than by operating a competing carrier.
Bansal’s comments come as airport privatisation and capacity expansion remain central to the development of India’s aviation infrastructure. The next steps identified by the company are participation in future airport privatisation processes, increased airside capacity at Mumbai airport and completion of the Terminal 1 renovation in early 2030.
