AAI to Seek Bids for Privatisation of 11 Airports by April; Targets ₹6,000 Crore

Airport Monetisation Push Deepens

Airports Authority of India (AAI) is preparing to launch the third phase of airport privatisation by April 2026. This includes soliciting bids for 11 airports across five portfolios as part of the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP), according to reports by Financial Express. An estimated ₹6,000 crore is to be raised through a long-term public-private partnership (PPP) concession. Big airport operators such as the Adani Group, GMR Airports, the Vinci Airports of France, and investment companies such as the NIIF have indicated their intentions to join. The bundling strategy of the government takes the profitable and non-profitable airports so that the cross-subsidisation can occur, and both metro and regional airports may be bid at competitive rates.

Strategies for Privatisation and Airport Bundles

In the new monetisation round, AAI has clustered the 11 airports under five bundles in order to present more investment propositions that are likely to be appealing to bidders. These packages are Amritsar-Kangra, Varanasi-Kushinagar-Gaya, Raipur-Aurangabad, Bhubaneswar-Hubli, and Trichy-Tirupati that combine high and low-traffic airports. According to a report by The Financial Express, the PPP Appraisal Committee (PPPAC) will most likely approve the proposal within the next several months, and Requests for Proposals (RFPs) will be granted.

It is a shift in the airport monetisation concept: rather than individual assets, profit-making airports are bundled with those in need of investment and development. This is in a bid to maintain investment in the diverse aviation markets across India. The highest bid per passenger fee to be paid to AAI will be used to calculate revenue sharing, a concept which the government advocates as a more transparent mechanism, that the partners' interests are more in line with the growth in traffic. Bidders will also need to navigate decisions around user development fees and potential caps on the number of airports a single entity can operate, issues that emerged as priorities during PPPAC deliberations.

In India, the privatisation process started more than 20 years ago, and the first PPP-model airport to be privatised was Delhi in 2006. Later, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Mangaluru, Jaipur, Guwahati, and Thiruvananthapuram were also privatized. The Adani Group has been running six of these airports and is likely to be one of the leaders of the new tender, with other established players GMR and international operator Vinci Airports.

Airport Privatisation Bidding- Key Details

(Source: The Financial Express)

Financial and Marketing Environment

As passenger traffic in India keeps expanding significantly in the years ahead (both domestic traffic has already reached levels above pre-pandemic, and secondary cities are experiencing an increase in connectivity), privatisation is viewed as a means of speeding up infrastructure upgrades. An example is the Adani Airport Holdings, which is simultaneously financing its plans to increase the capacity of its current airports by issuing bonds by FY30.

Analysts at The Economic Times observe that further monetisation value can be realised through the commercial use of more land in airports. This includes reforms that are seeking to permit the development of retail, hospitality, and business parks in the vicinity of the airport precincts, which are being considered as these aim at accessing more revenue streams by the operators. Past amendments in the AAI Act and inter-ministerial consultations have discussed increasing the land utilisation of airports to enhance bid valuation and attract investors, especially in the case of tier-2 and tier-3 cities.

Building the Next Phase of Airport Infrastructure

As the third round of airport privatisation begins by April 2026, targeting nearly ₹6,000 crore, the policy marks a shift from standalone asset leasing to a bundled portfolio approach under the National Monetisation Pipeline. Earlier rounds focused on maximising per-airport revenue, whereas the revised model pairs profitable and regional airports to ensure balanced development. The change reflects lessons from previous bids, with improved concession terms and broader commercial flexibility. By accelerating private investment, the initiative is expected to enhance regional connectivity and infrastructure efficiency. In turn, stronger airport networks are likely to stimulate tourism, trade, and overall economic growth.