India’s air passenger traffic continues to rise steadily. Domestic air passenger traffic rose to 154.5 lakh in November 2025, up 8.4% from a year ago and 10.1% over October. Capacity has stayed steady, but planes are fuller.
Over the first eight months of FY2026, domestic passenger numbers touched 1,096.5 lakh, reflecting a modest 2.2% growth compared to the same period last year. International travel has also picked up. Indian carriers flew 29.9 lakh passengers in October 2025, an 8.3% year-on-year rise.
As passenger volumes remain elevated, airports and passenger-linked services continue to see the impact in the form of higher footfalls and better utilisation. While this does not remove cost pressures faced by airlines, it keeps traffic-led businesses relevant in the current cycle, particularly where revenues are linked to volumes rather than ticket pricing.
This article focuses on parts of the aviation ecosystem where passenger traffic has a clearer and more direct link to business performance.
The emphasis is on airport-led models and passenger-linked services, where higher footfalls tend to support revenues and cash flows. Airlines and smaller aviation service or MRO companies have been kept out, as higher passenger numbers do not always convert into stable earnings, and disclosures often make it difficult to track the real impact of traffic trends.
#1 GMR Airports: The Capacity King Reclaims the Skies
GMR Airports is mainly engaged in the development, maintenance and operation of airports. The company is part of the GMR Group, which is also involbed in generation of power, coal mining and exploration activities, development of highways, development, maintenance and operation of special economic zones, and construction business including engineering, procurement and Construction (EPC) contracting activities.
GMR Airports Infrastructure reported strong operational results for Q2 FY26. This was reflected in the company’s financial numbers.
Consolidated gross income rose 47% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 3,670 crore in Q2 FY26. The company, which had been posting losses in the previous two quarters, turned around and posted a net profit of Rs 35 crore in the September quarter. In the same period, previous year, the company had posted a loss of Rs 429 crores.
The strong performance appears to be continuing in 3QFY26. Delhi Airport recorded its highest-ever monthly traffic of 73 lakh passengers in November 2025, following the reopening of the upgraded runway and Terminal 2. Hyderabad Airport also reported strong traffic growth during the period.
Project execution remains a key focus. Work at the Bhogapuram airport is finished; it already ran a test flight on 4 January 2026. The airport is expected to start operations in December 2026. The airport project at Crete in Greece is also under construction. Around 60% of the work has been completed. Future performance will depend on traffic levels and project completion.
In the past year, GMR Airports share price surged 33.4%.
GMR Airports 1 Year Share Price Chart
#2 Adani Enterprises: From Mining to Million-Passenger Terminals
Adani Enterprises, a member of the Adani group of companies, has business interests in various economic areas such as mining, integrated resources management (IRM), infrastructure such as airports, roads, rail/ metro, water, data centres, solar manufacturing, agro and defence.
Adani Enterprises has begun reporting its airport business as a separate vertical, reflecting its growing scale within the group. Together with GMR, the two entities now control nearly 50% of India’s total air passenger traffic, effectively creating a high-moat infrastructure duopoly that captures every second traveller in the country.
This note focuses on airports as passenger traffic has a clearer link to revenue and cash flow here than in the company’s other businesses.
During the first half of FY26, the airport business handled 4.6 crore passengers, up 2% YoY.
Revenue for the segment rose 32% to Rs 5,882 crore. Tariff revisions at four airports and higher non-aeronautical income supported performance.
Aero yield per passenger rose 20%. Non-aero income per passenger increased 34%.
The business is now running at an earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) level of over Rs 1,000 crore per quarter.
The Navi Mumbai greenfield airport has already started its operations. A new terminal at Guwahati Airport is close to commissioning. For the group as a whole, consolidated income stood at Rs 44,281 crore in H1 FY26, while profit before tax was Rs 5,864 crore. The pace of execution at new airports will shape the next phase of growth.
In the past year, Adani Enterprises share price is down 9.4%.
Adani Enterprise 1 Year Share Price Chart
#3 The Lounge Crisis: Can Dreamfolks Pivot to Global Skies?
Incorporated on April 24, 2008, DreamFolks Services is India’s largest airport service aggregator platform facilitating an enhanced airport experience to passengers leveraging a technology-driven platform.
DreamFolks Services faced a sharp setback earlier in FY26 after its agreements to operate airport lounge services was terminated. This disruption was triggered by intense pricing disputes and contract renegotiations between lounge operators and aggregators, creating a bottleneck in service continuity across major Indian hubs. Management said the full financial impact will become clearer over the next few quarters.
In the September quarter, the company reported revenue of Rs 205.5 crore, compared with Rs 316.9 crore a year earlier. Net profit fell to Rs 11.2 crore from Rs 16 crore in the same period last year.
With domestic operations on hold, the company is shifting focus to international lounge access and non-airport services. Revenue from global lounges improved sequentially during the quarter. DreamFolks now has access to over 900 international locations.
It has also entered railway lounges through its investment in Ten11 Hospitality. Near-term performance will depend on how quickly these segments scale.
In the past year, Dreamfolks Enterprises share price is down 73.3%.
Dreamfolks Services 1 Year Share Price Chart
The Valuation Verdict: EV/EBITDA vs Growth Realities
Let’s now turn to the valuations of the companies in focus, using the Enterprise Value to EBITDA multiple as a yardstick.
Valuations of Companies in focus
| Sr No | Company | EV/EBITDA | 3 Year Median EV/EBITDA | ROCE |
| 1 | GMR Airports | 28.2 | 26.8 | 6.9% |
| 2 | Adani Enterprises | 24.5 | 30.0 | 9.4% |
| 3 | Dreamfolks Services | 5.5 | 24.6 | 33.7% |
GMR Airports is trading at an EV/EBITDA of 28.2 times, slightly above its three-year median of 26.8 times. The market appears to be factoring in traffic recovery and progress at new airports. Returns, however, remain low. The company’s return on capital employed (ROCE) stands at 6.9%, showing that the business is still in a build-up phase.
Adani Enterprises is valued at 24.5 times EV/EBITDA, which is lower than its three-year median of 30 times. The airport business has an ROCE of 9.4%. This is higher than earlier levels. It remains modest for a capital-intensive business.
DreamFolks Services is trading at an EV/EBITDA of 5.5 times. Its three-year median stands at 24.6 times. The company reports an ROCE of 33.7%. This reflects a business model with lower asset intensity.
Overall, valuations show that while passenger traffic offers support, stock prices already reflect very different expectations across the three businesses.
Conclusion
India’s aviation sector is no longer in a sharp recovery phase, but passenger volumes remain healthy. That alone does not make every aviation-linked stock attractive. The gap between traffic growth and earnings continues to matter.
Some businesses benefit directly from passenger footfalls. Others face higher costs and execution issues. Stock prices also differ. In some cases, prices already reflect expectations. In others, recent disruptions have led to sharper corrections.
This makes stock selection important. The focus should stay on where passenger movement shows up clearly in revenues and cash flows, and where balance sheets can handle the next phase of growth. As traffic growth normalises, execution and discipline will matter more than optimism.
Disclaimer:
Note: We have relied on data from www.Screener.in throughout this article. Only in cases where the data was not available, have we used an alternate, but widely used and accepted source of information.
The purpose of this article is only to share interesting charts, data points and thought-provoking opinions. It is NOT a recommendation. If you wish to consider an investment, you are strongly advised to consult your advisor. This article is strictly for educative purposes only.
Ekta Sonecha Desai has a passion for writing and a deep interest in the equity markets. Combined with an analytical approach, she likes to deep into the world of companies, studying their performance, and uncovering insights that bring value to her readers.
Disclosure: The writer and his dependents do not hold the stocks discussed in this article.
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