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India Considers Letting Mumbai, Delhi Airports Own Airlines to Tackle Duopoly
M
Moneycontrol•22-09-2026, 18:45
India Considers Letting Mumbai, Delhi Airports Own Airlines to Tackle Duopoly
- •India is discussing waiving a rule that bars New Delhi and Mumbai airport operators from owning more than a 10% stake in airlines.
- •Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu stated the proposal aims to address the IndiGo-Air India duopoly in the domestic aviation market.
- •The current operations and management agreement prevents Delhi and Mumbai airports from controlling airlines, unlike other airports like Bengaluru.
- •Relaxing ownership restrictions would allow the Adani Group (Mumbai) and GMR Airports (New Delhi) to potentially own carriers.
- •India needs at least five carriers, each with 100 aircraft, to foster competition, following the collapse of Jet Airways and Go Airlines, and mergers under Tata Group.
Key Questions Answered
India is discussing a proposal to waive a rule that prevents New Delhi and Mumbai airport operators from owning more than a 10% stake in airlines. This potential relaxation aims to challenge the dominant market duopoly held by IndiGo and Air India.
Relaxing these ownership restrictions would allow the Adani Group, which operates Mumbai and seven other airports, and GMR Airports, which manages New Delhi and four additional facilities, to own and run their own carriers.
The collapse of carriers like Jet Airways and Go Airlines, alongside the merger of Vistara and AirAsia India under the Tata Group, left IndiGo and Air India controlling nine out of ten domestic passengers, prompting the government to consider widening market competition.
