Adani Group Places Big Bet on Airport Biz, Eyes AAHL’s IPO By 2027

Billionaire Gautam Adani-led Adani Group is mulling to list its airports arm, Adani Airport Holdings (AAHL), by 2027. The port-to-media conglomerate is planning to invest $100 billion across businesses to fuel its growth plan, Bloomberg reported, citing sources. The development comes around a time when AAHL, which operates eight Indian airports, is set to launch its newly built Navi Mumbai airport this month. 

The port-to-media conglomerate, as a part of its aviation business push to ramp up its non-aeronautical sources of revenue, is mulling to enter the airport ground handling services business following Turkey’s Celebi Aviation exit after the Narendra Modi-led government revoked its security clearance license.

Also Read: Adani Group Ramps Up Aviation Sector Play After Celebi Exit, to Enter Airport Ground Handling Biz

Apart from ground handling services, the Adani Group is also eyeing to scale its airport retail business. The company, in a statement on exchange filing earlier, said that AAHL raised $750 million via external commercial borrowings (ECB) to refinance existing debt, invest funds in airport infrastructure upgrades and capacity expansion. The proceeds from ECB will be utilised towards scaling its non-aero businesses, including retail, food & beverages, duty-free and other services across the airport venture, the company said. 

As a part of the Adani Group’s bet on airport and highway retail business, the port-to-media conglomerate has reportedly planned to increase its store count from 50 stores in 2025 to around 310 in 2026. 

“Our aim in the domestic side is to take over the entire airport business and run the entire retail operations ourselves over a period of time as the concession gets over for existing players,” Chief Executive of Adani Airport and Ospree, Gaurav Singh, had earlier told the Economic Times. 

Billionaire Gautam Adani’s bet on the aviation business comes at a time when the overall sector is rapidly growing, fueled by increasing demand for both domestic and international air travel. According to a study by Mordor Intelligence, the Indian aviation market is set to grow at a 12.03% CAGR from $14.78 billion in 2025 to $26.08 billion in 2030.