Mumbai: Adani Group is working on a strategy to reduce regulatory charges to the bare minimum by enhancing non-aeronautical charges and city-side development, a top company executive said on Wednesday.
The official also said Navi Mumbai International Airport has been planned, dimensioned and constructed with the ambition to make it an international hub when an Indian carrier starts direct flights to the US or Europe from the facility. Other domestic airports also hold potential to become hubs for international traffic.
"Everybody thinks an airport is a regulated business, but that is only one third of my business, and the ambition we have is that I want to make regulator charges by having non-aero and city-side development business so big that regulated revenue base becomes zero," Adani Airports Holding Ltd (AAHL) CEO Arun Bansal said during a panel discussion at the 13th SBI Banking and Economics Conclave 2026 here.
"Our ambition is that we should bring the regulatory charges for passengers so low. So, we are working on a strategy to reduce the regulatory charges to the bare minimum," he said.
Aeronautical charges are fees levied on airlines and passengers for the direct use of core airport and terminal infrastructure. Non-aeronautical charges are commercial and ancillary fees generated from retail, leasing and services at airports.
Bansal said the ambition is to bring down the regulatory revenue profile to almost a "single digit" over a period of time.
Stating that India needs a national carrier first to make the country a global hub for international traffic. Bansal said Singapore, Dubai, and Qatar all became global hubs because they have strong international hubs.
"Now, the hope is with IndiGo and Air India having 1800 aircraft on order; once those aircraft get delivered by 2032, India has potential to become that hub," Bansal added.
"And that's why our role as airport operator is to make infrastructure ready. Navi Mumbai, which we recently commissioned, is prepared and built with that ambition that it can be one of the international hubs for India," he said.
Of course, there's room for more hubs, Bansal said, adding that "Navi Mumbai is planned, dimensioned, constructed with that ambition that it can become an international hub once one of the Indian carriers has flights going directly from India to Europe or to the US, for that matter".
"I think this West Asia crisis opened the eyes of Indian regulators also that our dependence on a hub in the Middle East to travel to Europe or the US is significant and people suffer. So, regulators understand the need to change the regulatory framework to make India the global hub."
Later, talking to reporters at the event sidelines, Bansal said that the airport operators plan to demolish T1 of Mumbai International Airport, which remains intact. However, the airport operator can't force any airline to shift operations.
In August this year, Adani Group-operated Mumbai airport informed the Civil Aviation Ministry that it will start demolishing part of Terminal 1 from January 15, 2027, and has started redistributing air traffic to Terminal 2 and Navi Mumbai International Airport.
"We can never force any airline that you operate from Navi Mumbai or Mumbai or Ahmedabad or whatever. It's their choice," Bansal said.
"T1 demolition cannot be delayed," Bansal said, adding that airlines have been given time to plan their operations.
He said around 5 million passenger capacity from T1 will need to be accommodated elsewhere as the redevelopment progresses.
