Smaller lots, bigger stakes: The math behind India’s next wave of airport privatization

For the six airports handed out in 2020-21 on a 50-year lease (Ahmedabad, Guwahati, Jaipur, Lucknow, Mangaluru and Thiruvananthapuram), AAI receives a fee per passenger. For the next proposed lot of 11 airports, the government is looking at a 50-year agreement, again with AAI receiving a fee per passenger. It was in 2012-13 that such income from airports operated by private players on a PPP basis crossed 30% of AAI’s income. This figure started falling in 2017-18 as agreements were redrawn, following the disruptions from the covid pandemic. This share is now back above 30% again.