6 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Jul 24, 2026 12:02 PM IST
Adani Enterprises has said that it is not evaluating any proposal to enter the airline business. The company’s reaction follows reports that initial discussions on allowing airport operators to own airlines had started in the aviation ministry, and the Adani group — which runs eight airports — could venture into the airline business. There were indications that preliminary discussions at the ministry on cross-ownership in airport operators and airlines followed the Adani group’s request for an enabling policy environment.
“We would like to categorically deny recent media reports and market speculation suggesting that the Company is planning to launch an airline. The reports are entirely baseless and factually incorrect. The Company is not evaluating any proposal to enter the airline business,” Adani Enterprises, the group’s flagship entity, said in a statement on Friday.
In a departure from its stance to steer clear of having an airline while building a significant presence in India’s aviation ecosystem, the Adani Group was learnt to be considering a foray into the airline sector, although the plans were not concrete with discussions still at an initial stage, according to sources in the know.
The government, on its part, has been calling for more airlines in the Indian skies, given the duopoly of IndiGo and the Air India group, which have a cumulative domestic market share of 90%. The objective of the discussions to allow airport operators to also run airlines is to foster more competition in the sector, sources said.
Meanwhile, IndiGo’s Managing Director Rahul Bhatia said that any move by the government to allow airport operators to own airlines will create a “massive conflict of interest” and will be against the interest of consumers. “We are reading news as you are. All I can say is that, if the news has any merit, one, it has no global precedent…and typically (it will create) a massive conflict of interest. Over a period of time, it would actually be against the interest of consumers,” Bhatia said in the company’s post-earnings call on Thursday, adding that the IndiGo will closely watch the developments on this front.
According to industry insiders and experts, if the Adani group indeed moved ahead with a plan to run an airline, there is bound to be stiff resistance from existing airlines and other stakeholders due to potential conflict of interest situations. These could include preferential treatment and slot allocation to the airline opened by the operator. If the government does allow airport operators to own airlines, it must ensure stringent regulatory oversight as well as mandating the airline and airport operations to be run independently, experts said.
The Adani group operates eight airports in the country and has a major presence in other segments of the aviation sector, including ground handling, maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), and pilot training. The conglomerate also plans to set up an aircraft manufacturing facility in India in partnership with Brazil’s Embraer.
Story continues below this ad
According to prevailing rules, operators of Delhi and Mumbai airports are barred from holding more than 10% stake in a scheduled carrier, and the Adani group is seeking this particular condition to be removed. The Adani group has 74% stake in the Mumbai airport, while GMR has 74% in the Delhi airport.
Sources had indicated that the Adani group was weighing having its own airline with full control, and not hold a minority stake in another carrier. MoCA is learnt to have initiated preliminary discussions internally, and is seeking legal opinion on the matter. Any change on this front will also require the approval of the Union Cabinet, sources said. MoCA and the Adani group didn’t respond to queries on Thursday. Adani Enterprises issued its statement on Friday.
Notably, Jeet Adani, who looks after the conglomerate’s aviation business, had said in December that the Adani group was not interested in the airline business as running a carrier didn’t fit the group’s capital discipline and philosophy, which was about investing in assets in high-margin businesses and sweating those assets. The airline business is the opposite of that, Jeet Adani had said in a televised interview in December ahead of the Navi Mumbai airport launch.
But the thought process might have changed since then, largely due to two factors — the government’s push for more airlines in a bid to increase competition and check market concentration, and Adani’s own venture to set up a final assembly line (FAL) of Embraer’s passenger jets.
Story continues below this ad
“Now, it does make sense for the Adani group to have its own airline, considering the FAL project, for which an Adani-controlled airline would be a ready customer. Although nothing has been finalised yet, as concerns about the airline business in general persist, the idea of potentially owning an airline is under consideration,” a source close to the Adani group had said.
The airline sector in India has seen a number of airlines fail due to a difficult operating environment, fierce competition in a highly price-sensitive market, and global supply chain woes. The government wants strong corporate groups with deep pockets to foray into the sector given the challenging operating environment in the world’s fastest-growing major aviation market.
While concerns pertaining to a growing duopoly in the Indian skies had been around for a few years, IndiGo’s network-wide operational crisis in December exhibited the adverse impact it can have. The airline, with over 65% domestic market share, had mass cancellations early December, bringing the country’s aviation sector to its knees.
They also pointed out that starting an airline and achieving a critical mass is a long-gestation project and could take years, given delays in aircraft deliveries globally, supply chain issues, and the slow rate of aircraft production.
