Sitting on Rs 1 trn in assets, pvt airports want cash support from govt

Experts say the demands of airports controlled by big corporate groups sitting on piles of cash are unlikely to be entertained by the Modi govt

In July 2021, former Indian army chief and minister of state for civil aviation (Retd) General V K Singh gave some grim numbers to the Parliament. Most Indian airports in India were running into losses. According to Singh’s figures, private airport operators, including GMR, Adani and Fairfax, which control the largest and most lucrative airports in the country were beset with cumulative losses of over Rs 1,500 crore in 2020-21.

Fairfax-controlled Bengaluru airport (which also was the busiest during the pandemic in 2020) was the worst-hit, posting a loss of about Rs 500 crore in 2020 according to its financial