The story so far: The Ministry of Civil Aviation is examining whether to relax cross-ownership restrictions between airport operators and airlines. Officials are preparing a concept note for consultations with NITI Aayog and other government ministries before any proposal is taken to the Union Cabinet.
The exercise comes amid media reports, citing a letter from Adani Airports CEO Arun Bansal, that the proposed changes are linked to the Adani Group’s reported interest in entering the airline business. However, Adani Enterprises denied the reports.
What is the government proposing?
The restrictions under review are embedded in airport concession agreements rather than in legislation. The concession agreements for Delhi and Mumbai airports cap aggregate airline ownership in the airport operator at 10%, while those for the Noida International Airport (Jewar) and Navi Mumbai airports are more relaxed and allow up to 26% ownership in an airline. These provisions can also be applied in reverse, effectively restricting airport operators from acquiring significant stakes in airlines.
Media reports suggest that the government is interested in this ostensibly to allow new airline entrants, increase investment in the sector and help break the near-duopoly of IndiGo and the Air India group in the domestic market. These suggestions come in the backdrop of IndiGo’s large scale flight cancellations in December 2025 over pilot rostering issues that brought air travel to its knees.
Some media reports have also linked the proposed changes to the Adani Group’s reported interest in entering the airline business, citing its memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer to explore local production of passenger aircraft. Embraer has said that setting up a final assembly line (FAL) in India would depend on securing a substantial aircraft order from the country.
How will the government address conflict-of-interest concerns?
The current concession agreements maintain a separation between airport operators and airlines to prevent potential conflicts of interest by ensuring airports remain neutral infrastructure providers and do not favour affiliated carriers in gate allocation, terminal access, airport facilities or other operational decisions.
Government officials say any relaxation of the rules is likely to be accompanied by safeguards to ensure an “arm’s length” relationship between airport and airline businesses.
Among the measures under consideration are provisions preventing the direct or indirect sharing of commercially sensitive information, including data relating to slot allocation and airport operations. The proposal is also expected to prohibit common key managerial personnel from holding executive positions in both the airport and airline entities.
The Adani Group is already the largest airport operator in the country with 8 airports in its kitty, accounting for 25% of the total air traffic. It also has a 99.98% stake in maintenance, repair and overhaul company Airworks, has an agreement to acquire a 72.8% stake in pilot training organisation Flight Simulation Technique Centre, ground handling, retain and food and beverage concessions at airports.
How have airlines reacted?
India’s two largest airline groups—IndiGo and Air India—have opposed the reported move, arguing that allowing airport operators to own airlines would create conflicts of interest and weaken competition.
IndiGo Managing Director Rahul Bhatia said there was “no global precedent because it would typically raise a massive conflict of interest, and over a period of time it would against the interest of consumers.”
Air India has expressed similar reservations. A senior executive told The Hindu that “vertical consolidation” in aviation as problematic, pointing to the Adani Group’s presence across multiple segments of the aviation value chain.
According to the executive, ownership across so many parts of the ecosystem could enable preferential treatment, disadvantage competing airlines and ultimately reduce competition and employment in the sector.
Given that IndiGo and the Air India group together account for nearly 90% of India’s domestic aviation market, their opposition suggests that any proposal to ease cross-ownership rules is likely to trigger intense debate before any policy change is finalised.
What are some global examples of such cross ownership?
While common ownership between airports and airlines exists in jurisdictions such as Singapore, Qatar and the UAE, these examples largely involve government ownership of both entities.
In Singapore, both Changi Airport Group and Singapore Airlines are ultimately owned by the government, with Temasek Holdings holding a majority stake in Singapore Airlines, while Qatar owns both Hamad International Airport and Qatar Airways, and the governments of Dubai and Abu Dhabi own Dubai Airports and Emirates, and Abu Dhabi Airports and Etihad Airways, respectively.
These examples differ from India in that each has one dominant state-backed flag carrier that anchors the hub airport, rather than multiple privately owned carriers competing at privately operated airports.
India’s proposal, by contrast, would permit common ownership in a competitive market with multiple privately owned airlines, raising concerns over potential conflicts of interest and whether airport operators could accord preferential treatment to affiliated carriers.
Published – July 25, 2026 12:27 pm IST
