Mumbai: With prosperous flyers shopping for meals, candies, perfumes and duty-free liquor, Adani Airport Holdings Ltd made extra incremental earnings from its non-aeronautical enterprise than from its mainstay of managing air site visitors through the first 9 months of FY26.
Aero earnings of the Adani Group firm, which is the most important personal airport operator, grew by over a fifth year-on-year to ₹3,495 crore through the first 9 months of FY26. Non-aero income together with from duty-free procuring and meals & drinks gross sales grew by a 3rd to ₹4,743 crore and accounted for half of the corporate’s complete income of ₹9,652 crore, based on an investor presentation by dad or mum firm Adani Enterprises Ltd.
Aero earnings contains income from plane touchdown charges, parking charges, terminal leases and consumer expenses levied on passengers. Revenue from duty-free gross sales retailers and F&B shops falls into the non-aero class, which additionally embody lease and retail, automobile parking, passenger providers and different objects.
Non-aero earnings outpacing aero income is in keeping with the corporate’s objectives. Adani Airport chief govt officer Arun Bansal mentioned in current media interviews that the corporate is concentrating on 70% of its income from non-aero sources by 2030. Non-aero income brings higher returns on capital employed than aero earnings, based on analysts at brokerage JM Monetary.
The corporate will make investments ₹20,000 crore in city-side developments to reinforce its non-aero earnings, the Financial Occasions reported on 7 August 2025, quoting Bansal. Nearly three-fourths of the funding might be earmarked for Mumbai and Navi Mumbai airports, he mentioned.
Adani operates eight airports throughout India—Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Mangaluru, Jaipur, Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram and Navi Mumbai, which opened in December. The corporate is anticipated to be the following to be listed by the Adani Group.
The Adani Group didn’t reply to Mint’s request for a remark.
GMR Airports
Comparatively, the non-aero earnings of GMR Airports Ltdthe one listed personal airport operator in India and Adani’s closest peer, from working the Delhi, Hyderabad and North Goa airports was ₹2,147 crore through the first half of FY26. This accounted for 42% of the entire earnings of ₹5,099 crore at these three home airports.
Solely at Delhi airport did non-aero income exceed aero earnings. GMR additionally operates airports in Indonesia, Greece and the Philippines. The corporate is but to reveal its Q3 earnings.
Analysts at JM Monetary famous that surging wealth amongst prosperous Indians has led to vital premiumization in consumption.
“That is mirrored in rising worldwide journey (largely pushed by metro cities), and likewise rise in non-aero spends. The rise in non-aero spends is in duty-free and airport retail. We count on this pattern to maintain, particularly with airports positioned in metro cities (Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad),” the analysts famous of their 19 December notice on GMR Airports.
The analysts argued that whereas there was a surge in home air site visitorsthis improve was led by non-metro cities and largely relied on by first-time flyers. This phase doesn’t result in an increase in non-aero income, which supplies increased return on capital, as a result of restricted spending energy, they famous.
“The metro airports are those the place we count on a powerful rise in non-aero income. Particularly, we’re already witnessing some modifications; as an example, in comparison with arrival solely duty-free spends we’re witnessing purchases even at departures,” the analysts famous. Spends had been additionally rising from classes past liquor similar to cosmetics, fragrances and confectionaries, they mentioned.
“We estimate that non-aero gross sales throughout the important thing metro or JV airports can develop at a CAGR of 10% over FY26-28E. That is pushed by each increased air passengers and elevated spending penetration, particularly in metro airports,” they famous.