Adani Airports interview: Indian airports creak under strain of air travel boom
June 28, 2025
As India’s air travel demand surges at an impressive rate, the country’s airport infrastructure is feeling the strain.
But Adani Airport Holdings Limited (AAHL), the largest private airport operator in the country, says it is moving fast to expand capacity, modernise terminals, and deliver a more seamless, tech-driven passenger experience.
Speaking exclusively to Aerospace Global News, AAHL outlined the group’s ambitious roadmap for meeting the needs of nearly 90 million passengers a year across its seven airports – and preparing for even faster growth ahead.
Adani Airports: building bigger, smarter hubs
At the core of Adani’s strategy is a major investment programme focused on both greenfield developments and extensive upgrades to existing facilities.
Key projects include a new terminal (T3) that opened at Lucknow in March 2024, and the under-construction Navi Mumbai International Airport – a greenfield site which has been hit by delays but is finally due to launch in mid-2025.
“Every airport has received upgrades in the form of runway recarpeting, lighting systems, state-of-the-art security systems – like Perimeter Intrusion Detection Systems (PIDS) – Wildlife Hazard Management (WHM), cargo areas, manpower training and development,” said an AAHL spokesperson.
Terminals at Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram, Ahmedabad and Jaipur are also being either constructed or redesigned. Meanwhile, a major focus on digitisation – including the launch of Adani’s own ‘aviio’ operational platform – is helping streamline everything from check-in to baggage handling.
“Adani Airports has been consistently focusing in investing on technology and innovation to enhance passenger experience and efficiencies,” the spokesperson added.
AAHL is “leading the adaptation for digital interventions”, they said, with initiatives including DigiYatra, e-gates, self-baggage drop and Common Use Self Service (CUSS) kiosks.
Pressure points: infrastructure and capacity
The pace of passenger growth is not without challenges.
According to Adani, most Indian airports are operating at or near peak capacity – a situation intensified by rapid growth in both domestic and international travel.
“Indian Airports have been facing challenges due to limited infrastructure and modernisation in terms of facilities and experience. With the surge in travel demand, most airports in India operate at peak capacity,” the spokesperson admitted.
According to IATA, between 2011 and 2019, India witnessed a double-digit average annual growth rate of 10.3% in air passenger origin-destination (O-D) departures.
This performance easily outpaced that of the industry globally and for the Asia Pacific region, IATA said, and in 2024, India’s traffic levels exceeded their 2019 level by 10.9%, with a fourth consecutive year of double-digit growth.
“The Indian Government has been pivotal in addressing these issues through technology driven initiatives, and Adani Airports have been forerunners in such digitalization initiatives like DigiYatra, self-baggage drop machines, e-gates, etc., to create a seamless and hassle-free travel experience, while simultaneously addressing the rising passenger throughput without compromising on travel experience,” the AAHL spokesperson explained.
“Additionally, limited traffic rights availability across major Tier I, II and regional airports has been a challenge.
“However, the Government of India has been progressive in enhancing traffic rights and additional point of call status for airports over the years, and this is going to further ease up in the future.”
A decade of opportunity
Looking beyond India, AAHL sees the wider South Asian region increasingly shaped by Indian aviation trends.
Factors such as airport privatisation, massive aircraft orders by domestic airlines, and evolving travel demographics – from influencer tourism to concerts and high-yield leisure – are reshaping the landscape.
“Indian aviation has witnessed the doubling of traffic over the past decade and this momentum is set to continue with more and more airports getting privatised, new airports and terminals getting constructed,” the spokesperson said.
“Massive aircraft orders by Indian carriers will enable even stronger growth and extensive connectivity to new destinations.
“The growth will not only be driven by the traditional travel segments like VFR [visiting friends and relatives], MICE [meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions], business and leisure, but also by the new travel segments like influencer tourism, concerts, high-yield leisure tourism, etc., which in turn will shape the future of Indian air travel landscape.”
AAHL believes privatisation of secondary and regional airports will support infrastructure growth, while the twin-airport strategy – operating two airports near to each other to serve the same metropolitan area – will become more prominent at major gateways.
Additionally, air cargo traffic will see a boom over the next decade with higher exports due to the Make in India push for manufacturing.
India’s sustainability commitments
With all this growth comes pressure to meet environmental standards.
Adani says it is targeting operational net-zero emissions by FY2029. Over 50 energy-efficiency projects have been implemented, including the adoption of electric vehicles and 100% LED lighting.
“The Adani Airports, combined, have 9.3 MWp on-site solar power generation projects installed. During FY2023-24, a total of 115,070 MWH of electricity was sourced from renewable energy, which constitutes 59 percent of the total electricity used,” said the spokesperson, highlighting that Mumbai Airport already runs entirely on green power.
Water conservation, zero waste to landfill goals, and sustainable terminal designs are also part of the company’s broad sustainability blueprint.
Thiruvananthapuram Airport, for example, has become the first in India to achieve certified Zero Waste to Landfill status.
India’s air travel revolution is far from over – and Adani Airport Holdings aims to be at the centre of it.
With continued investment, digital innovation, and a push for sustainability, the company believes it is well-positioned to turn today’s capacity crunch into a growth opportunity.
