AAI reports Rs 34 billion profit, rebounds with surging revenues

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has bounced back into profitability, reporting a profit of Rs 34 billion in the fiscal year 2022-23 ending in March, propelled by a surge in domestic air traffic. This marks the first profit for AAI since the COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted air travel and the aviation industry as a whole. In the previous two financial years, AAI had reported losses. In the fiscal year ending March 2022, the loss amounted to Rs 8.03 billion, while it stood at Rs 31.76 billion in the fiscal year ending March 2021. These figures exclude exceptional items and taxes. According to an insider source, AAI's provisional figure for the 2022-23 financial year is a profit of Rs 34 billion, with the final audited results yet to be determined. The source attributes this positive performance to the substantial growth in domestic air traffic. In 2022, domestic air passenger traffic surged by 47.05%, reaching 12.32 crore compared to 8.38 crore in the previous year. Official data reveals that passenger numbers further soared by 51.70% in the first three months of this year, totaling 3.75 crore compared to 2.47 crore in the same period last year. In the 2021-22 fiscal year, AAI recorded a modest profit of Rs 87.6 million, including exceptional items and taxes. In the fiscal year ending March 2022, the government waived the compulsory dividend payment requirement. AAI had sought this waiver as a result of the waiver granted to Air India before its sale to the Tata Group in January 2022. AAI manages a total of 137 airports, including 24 international and 80 domestic airports. It also provides Air Traffic Management Services (ATMS) across the entire Indian airspace and adjacent oceanic areas.