Adani Airports Holdings (AAHL) has laid down the expansion plans for its airport business, but for Jeet Adani, director – Airports, the larger strategic context is Mumbai’s missed opportunity to become India’s primary global aviation hub. In an interaction with Akbar Merchant, Adani explains how capacity bottlenecks at the city’s main airport reshaped traffic flows, how Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) is being positioned beyond a purely aeronautical model, and why Mumbai’s long-term airport needs remain structurally unresolved. Excerpts:
Q You have outlined a large capex plan and a possible IPO window. How does that tie into Mumbai’s aviation constraints?
A The investment plan is about building capacity where it can actually come up. Mumbai airport has been capped at around 55 million passengers for nearly a decade. That is not a financial issue, it is a physical one. When a city with Mumbai’s economic weight cannot expand aviation capacity, traffic shifts elsewhere. That is what happened. Long-haul growth that should have come to Mumbai went to Delhi. Our capex, including NMIA, is meant to correct that imbalance over time, but it also shows how late the response has been.
Q You often compare Mumbai with London. Why is that comparison important?
London has five airports serving different types of traffic. Mumbai has two, and even today we are only talking about a third in theory. If Mumbai had added capacity steadily over the last 10 years, it would have emerged as a major global hub. Instead, we have intersecting runways that can only be used one at a time. That single design constraint froze growth. A global city cannot operate like that and expect to dominate international connectivity.
Q How did these constraints affect India’s international connectivity?
The effect is visible. Mumbai should have had direct connectivity to multiple cities in the US, Europe, Africa and East Asia. Airlines look for scale, predictability and slots. When they could not get that in Mumbai, they went to Delhi. Once those routes are established elsewhere, it becomes very hard to pull them back. That is the opportunity cost of capacity stagnation.
Q NMIA is often described as more than just a second airport. What does that mean in practice?
Airports globally cannot rely only on aeronautical revenue. NMIA is being developed as an aviation-led district. That means the airport is the anchor, but around it you have commercial activity, employment and services that make the ecosystem financially resilient. This approach is essential if airports are to fund large upfront investments without overburdening airlines or passengers.
Q Has the delayed opening of NMIA altered traffic assumptions?
The projections have effectively shifted by a year. When you open later in the year, the first-year numbers are naturally lower. But the demand profile has not changed. The Mumbai metropolitan region still has demand that exceeds supply. NMIA’s ramp-up is about sequencing that demand rather than creating it from scratch.
Q What happens to pricing once both airports are operational?
Mumbai and Navi Mumbai cannot be treated in isolation. A combined tariff framework is being worked out under the Group of Airports policy. The idea is to reflect the integrated nature of demand in the region, rather than have two completely separate pricing regimes that distort airline behaviour.
Q Technology is a major talking point at new airports. How are you approaching this at NMIA?
Technology has to be proven before it is deployed in critical systems. All mission-critical operations are fully manned. We are not experimenting with untested AI in areas like airfield operations. Where technology adds value is in back-end integration and passenger-facing information, so that what the operator sees is also visible to the passenger in real time.
Q Beyond passengers, how important are cargo and ancillary activities to NMIA?
They are critical. Passenger traffic alone does not define an airport’s economic role. Cargo, maintenance and training create steady revenue and jobs. NMIA is designed to handle those from an early stage, which also reduces pressure on Mumbai airport.
Q Finally, is a third runway at NMIA a realistic solution to Mumbai’s long-term needs?
A third runway is largely theoretical. The binding constraint is airspace, not land. Independent operations require separation and supporting infrastructure, including terminals and connectivity. Even if it happens, it only postpones the need for additional capacity by a few years. Mumbai’s challenge is structural, and it needs long-term planning, not incremental fixes.