Major airport developers Adani and GMR are aggressively expanding retail, dining, and commercial offerings to drive profitability as passenger traffic growth cools down. According to reports from The Economic Times, Adani Airport is targeting a 70% contribution from non-aero businesses by 2030, from 56% currently, while GMR Airports expects its non-aero platform to grow at about 15% annually on a sustained basis. The non-aero businesses, which include retail, duty-free, food and beverage, lounges, parking and commercial development, already account for about half of the two operators' income.
GMR Airports, the country's largest private airport operator, managed 30.5 million passengers in the June quarter with traffic growing just 1%. However, non-aero revenue across its three Indian airports rose 11%, including 13% at Delhi, 12% at Hyderabad and 8% at Mopa. Adani Airports reported that its non-aeronautical revenue jumped 53% year-on-year to ₹2,136 crore in the June quarter, while passenger traffic rose 3% to 24.2 million. As reported by The Economic Times, non-aero yield per passenger at Adani managed airports jumped to ₹883, up 48% year-on-year and 25% sequentially from ₹708 in the March quarter.
The strategy allows the companies to increase revenue from existing passengers rather than depend entirely on growth in passenger traffic or aeronautical charges, especially when passenger growth is slowing. According to The Economic Times, executives from Adani Enterprises stated that about 30% of passengers currently engage with commercial offerings, leaving a large pool of passengers to tap into. GMR Airports is expanding the physical footprint available for commercial businesses, with Hyderabad's departure duty-free area increasing from 400 sq m to 1,300 sq m, while plans include adding another 400-500 sq m to the arrival-side duty-free area at Delhi.
The trend reflects a fundamental change in airport business, with the next phase of growth increasingly about monetising passengers rather than merely handling them. According to The Economic Times, Elara Capital's Ankita Shah noted that globally, there are examples of a 30-70 mix (30% aero revenue and remaining non-aero), making the target achievable when capex cycles come down and airports mature. The Airports Council International (ACI) World reported that non-aeronautical revenue accounted for 36.7% of airport income globally, rising to 43.5% in the Asia-Pacific, West Asia and Africa region. GMR Airports expects its non-aero spend per passenger to increase 7-8% over time, with total income of ₹4,080 crore where nearly half was non-aero revenues.
