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Informist, Thursday, Jul. 23, 2026

 

MUMBAI – Allowing airport operators to run airlines would be a "massive" conflict of interest, InterGlobe Aviation Ltd.'s managing director Rahul Bhatia said during the company's investor call for the June quarter. "Over a period of time, it would actually be against the interests of consumers," Bhatia said. InterGlobe Aviation operates budget carrier IndiGo, which dominates the domestic market with a 65% market share.

 

The Indian government is weighing the option of allowing airport owners to own and run airlines to boost competition in the market, which is largely dominated by IndiGo and Tata Group-owned Air India, news agency Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing sources. Such a move would pave the way for the Adani Group and GMR Airports Ltd. to have their own carriers.

 

"All I can say is that if the news has any merit, one, it has no global precedence," IndiGo's Bhatia said. 

 

Adani Group's Adani Airport Holdings Ltd. currently operates the airports in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Mangaluru, Guwahati, Jaipur, and Thiruvananthapuram. Additionally, the company also offers services such as ground handling, maintenance, repair and overhaul, and pilot training. GMR Airports is the largest private airport operator in Asia. It operates airports in Delhi, Hyderabad, Goa, Nagpur, Bidar, Visakhapatnam, and three more overseas. 

 

The Adani group and GMR Airports have a 74% stake each in Mumbai and Delhi airports. Currently, any firm operating these two airports is barred from holding over a 10% stake in a scheduled carrier. The Adani group wants this rule to be removed as it is considering having its own airline with full control, the Indian Express reported Thursday. 

 

The Ministry of Civil Aviation has reportedly had preliminary discussions on this matter. The driving factor behind such a decision, which would require approval of the Union Cabinet, would be pushing more competition in the industry, which is fraught with cases of bankruptcy. Although smaller players have propped up in recent years, Air India and IndiGo have a combined market share of around 90% domestically.

 

InterGlobe Aviation disclosed its earnings for the June quarter minutes after the market closed for the day. It reported a net loss of INR 3.82 billion on revenues of INR 245.84 billion. Thursday, shares of InterGlobe Aviation closed 1.8% lower at INR 5,023.50 on the National Stock Exchange.  End

 

Reported by Anand JC

Edited by Deepshikha Bhardwaj

 

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