Indian airports record Rs 7,000 cr loss in FY21

27 Jul 2021 CW Team

Comparatively, as per the report by CAPA India, they made profits worth Rs 5,160 crore in FY20.

The consolidated operating revenue of airports fell by 64.1% to Rs 8,310 crore.

The PPP (public-private partnership) operators accounted for 31% of these losses and AAI (Airports Authority of India) for 69%.

Total cash expenditure for the year touched Rs 13,590 crore, the report said.

CAPA India is an aviation consultancy firm and has numerous leading airport operators and airlines as its customers.

As per the data shared in Parliament last week by the Minister of State Civil Aviation, V K Singh, India’s airports are ready to continue incurring losses as the coronavirus pandemic is yet to recede. A majority of 107 out of 136 airports controlled by AAI have suffered losses, while 91 of these airports have recorded total losses worth Rs 1,368.82 crore. In FY19, 101 of the AAI-operated airports incurred losses of Rs 1,668.69 crore.

Domestic traffic dropped by 61.8% to 105 million passengers, but it was international traffic that underwent a much higher blow dropping by 84.8% to just 10.1 million passengers, the lowest level in around 30 years, the CAPA report noted.

Currently, scheduled international flights are yet banned from India and travel is only allowed through air bubble arrangements. As of now, India has this contract with Bangladesh, the United States, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Germany, Iraq, Bahrain, Netherlands, France, Oman, Canada, Tanzania, Japan, Kenya, Kuwait, Maldives, Nepal, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Seychelles, Nigeria, Qatar, the United Kingdom, Russia, Sri Lanka, Ukraine, UAE, and Uzbekistan.

The report also informed that the passenger traffic could have been 7-10 million higher than the current figures had it not been for constant regulation modifications made by several state governments.

It was especially the case in Maharashtra, where it is estimated Mumbai Airport alone may have dropped 3.5-4.5 million passengers as a consequence. Among the metro airports, Mumbai encountered the steepest drop in total traffic.

Mumbai airport was the worst impacted among metros and reported a 75.9% drop in passenger traffic and a loss of Rs 317.41 crore. Chennai airport stands next with a 75.3% drop in passenger traffic. Comparatively, Delhi observed a 66.4% drop and a loss of Rs 317.41 crore, Bengaluru a 66.3% drop, Hyderabad a 63.4% drop and Kolkata a 64.9% drop and a loss of Rs 31.04 crore.

Due to constraints related to the pandemic in Maharashtra, Bangalore (Bengaluru) overtook Mumbai for the first time to appear as the second busiest domestic airport in India in FY21, after Delhi, the report said.

Image Source

Also read: Jyotiraditya Scindia: Covid-hit aviation sector on recovery path

The report named ‘India Airports Review FY21’, reported losses worth Rs 7,000 crore and also indicated how total passenger traffic dropped by 63% to 115 million passengers, a figure last obtained in 2008. Comparatively, as per the report by CAPA India, they made profits worth Rs 5,160 crore in FY20. The consolidated operating revenue of airports fell by 64.1% to Rs 8,310 crore. The PPP (public-private partnership) operators accounted for 31% of these losses and AAI (Airports Authority of India) for 69%. Total cash expenditure for the year touched Rs 13,590 crore, the report said. CAPA India is an aviation consultancy firm and has numerous leading airport operators and airlines as its customers. As per the data shared in Parliament last week by the Minister of State Civil Aviation, V K Singh, India’s airports are ready to continue incurring losses as the coronavirus pandemic is yet to recede. A majority of 107 out of 136 airports controlled by AAI have suffered losses, while 91 of these airports have recorded total losses worth Rs 1,368.82 crore. In FY19, 101 of the AAI-operated airports incurred losses of Rs 1,668.69 crore. Domestic traffic dropped by 61.8% to 105 million passengers, but it was international traffic that underwent a much higher blow dropping by 84.8% to just 10.1 million passengers, the lowest level in around 30 years, the CAPA report noted. Currently, scheduled international flights are yet banned from India and travel is only allowed through air bubble arrangements. As of now, India has this contract with Bangladesh, the United States, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Germany, Iraq, Bahrain, Netherlands, France, Oman, Canada, Tanzania, Japan, Kenya, Kuwait, Maldives, Nepal, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Seychelles, Nigeria, Qatar, the United Kingdom, Russia, Sri Lanka, Ukraine, UAE, and Uzbekistan. The report also informed that the passenger traffic could have been 7-10 million higher than the current figures had it not been for constant regulation modifications made by several state governments. It was especially the case in Maharashtra, where it is estimated Mumbai Airport alone may have dropped 3.5-4.5 million passengers as a consequence. Among the metro airports, Mumbai encountered the steepest drop in total traffic. Mumbai airport was the worst impacted among metros and reported a 75.9% drop in passenger traffic and a loss of Rs 317.41 crore. Chennai airport stands next with a 75.3% drop in passenger traffic. Comparatively, Delhi observed a 66.4% drop and a loss of Rs 317.41 crore, Bengaluru a 66.3% drop, Hyderabad a 63.4% drop and Kolkata a 64.9% drop and a loss of Rs 31.04 crore. Due to constraints related to the pandemic in Maharashtra, Bangalore (Bengaluru) overtook Mumbai for the first time to appear as the second busiest domestic airport in India in FY21, after Delhi, the report said. Image Source Also read: Jyotiraditya Scindia: Covid-hit aviation sector on recovery path

Real Estate

31 Oct 2025

Birla Estates Tops Global GRESB 2025 Rankings

Birla Estates (BEPL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Aditya Birla Real Estate (formerly Century Textiles and Industries Limited), has been recognised as a Sector Leader in the 2025 GRESB Real Estate Assessment, securing top honours across multiple global and regional categories.Birla Estates’ Achievements in GRESB 2025:Global Sector Leader – ResidentialGlobal Sector Leader – Non-Listed ResidentialRegional Sector Leader – Asia – ResidentialRegional Sector Leader – Non-Listed – Asia – ResidentialThese distinctions reaffirm Birla Estates’ exceptional performance in Environmental, ..

Infrastructure Transport

31 Oct 2025

Progota India Secures RDSO Clearance for Kavach 4.0

Concord Control Systems, one of India’s leading manufacturers of embedded electronic and critical system solutions, announced that its associate company, Progota India, has received Technical Prototype Clearance from the Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) for Kavach 4.0, the latest version of Indian Railways’ indigenous Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system.With this clearance, Progota has been formally approved to execute its ongoing trial order from South Central Railway, marking a key milestone in India’s railway modernization journey. The approval also establishes P..

Infrastructure Urban

31 Oct 2025

MPS Interactive Systems Completes Full Acquisition of Liberate Group

MPS Interactive Systems (MPSi), a material subsidiary of MPS, has completed the acquisition of the remaining shareholding in the Liberate Group of Companies—comprising Liberate Learning, App-eLearn, and Liberate eLearning.With this transaction, MPSi now holds 100 per cent ownership of all entities within the Liberate Group, making them its wholly owned subsidiaries. The acquisition was executed in line with the valuation methodology defined in the original transaction documents.Commenting on the development, Rahul Arora, Chairman and CEO of MPS, said, “The corporate learning sector continu..