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The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is preparing to invite bids for the privatisation of 11 airports under a bundled public-private partnership (PPP) framework by April. This will mark the third phase of airport monetisation after a gap of nearly five years. The airports have been grouped into five bundles, pairing high-traffic airports with smaller regional ones to improve commercial viability. Major domestic and global airport operators have shown interest. The government expects to raise about INR 6,000 crore for reinvestment in aviation infrastructure.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is set to restart the airport privatisation programme with plans to invite bids for 11 airports under the public-private partnership (PPP) model by April. This will be the first such exercise since the second round of airport leasing was completed nearly five years ago, as part of the Centre's asset monetisation strategy. Advertisement
Under this phase, the government has bundled the 11 airports into five packages to attract private participation. The airport combinations include Amritsar-Kangra, Varanasi-Kushinagar-Gaya, Raipur-Aurangabad, Bhubaneswar-Hubli, and Trichy-Tirupati. The bundling approach is aimed at balancing revenue generation by pairing airports with strong passenger traffic alongside smaller or less profitable regional airports.
The airports will be offered for operation, management and development through long-term concession agreements, while ownership will remain with AAI. According to government officials, the proposals are awaiting clearance from the Public Private Partnership Appraisal Committee (PPPAC). Once approved, requests for proposals will be issued, allowing interested bidders to submit financial and technical offers.
Several leading airport operators have shown preliminary interest in the upcoming bidding process. These include domestic players such as Adani Group and GMR Airports, along with international operators like Vinci Airports and investment platform NIIF, besides other global infrastructure funds. The participation of international firms reflects sustained investor interest in India's aviation infrastructure despite a pause in privatisation activity in recent years.
The government is expecting to raise nearly INR 6,000 crore from leasing these 11 airports, with the proceeds proposed to be used for funding expansion, modernisation and new airport projects across the country. This revenue is aligned with targets set under the National Monetisation Pipeline, which focuses on unlocking value from public assets.
India's airport privatisation programme began in the early 2000s with Delhi and Mumbai airports, where AAI retained minority stakes. In the second round, airports such as Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Jaipur, Mangaluru, Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram were leased to private operators. The current bundled model marks a shift from standalone airport bidding, aimed at ensuring long-term sustainability of regional airports.
Under the proposed structure, bidders are expected to be selected based on the highest per-passenger revenue share offered to AAI. The model is intended to improve transparency and competition while allowing private operators flexibility to invest in capacity expansion and passenger services, subject to regulatory oversight.
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