GMR Widens Lead Over Adani Airports Following Delhi Tariff Increase

GMR Airports Outpaces Rival Adani Airports in Revenue Growth

New Delhi: GMR Airports Ltd has emerged as the top performer among India's private airport operators, with a 40% revenue growth in the fiscal year 2026, surpassing its rival Adani Airports Holdings Ltd, which reported a 28% growth.

According to company disclosures, GMR Airports' total revenue stood at ₹15,200 crore in the year ended March 2026, up from ₹10,836 crore in the previous year. In contrast, Adani Airports reported ₹13,081 crore, up from ₹10,224 crore in the fiscal year 2025.

The differing performance reflects the contrasting expansion and monetisation strategies of India's two largest private airport operators. GMR, which operates Delhi, Hyderabad, and Mopa airports, has brought forward the opening of its fourth airport at Bhogapuram in Andhra Pradesh to the July-September quarter from October-December. The company is also planning to take over operations of Nagpur airport around the same period.

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The growth in GMR Airports' revenue was driven largely by tariff revisions at Delhi airport, which allowed differentiated user development fees (UDF) for international passengers across travel classes, including economy, premium economy, business, and first class. The tariff change drove a 178% jump in aeronautical revenues at Delhi in FY26. Aero revenues at Hyderabad and Goa were flat or declined.

Delhi International Airport accounted for 50% of GMR Airports' business, while Hyderabad and Goa together contributed about 20%. The remaining 30% came from other income and its share in joint ventures, associates, and subsidiaries. GMR Airports also swung to profitability, posting a profit before tax of ₹472 crore compared with a ₹816.9 crore loss in FY25. Adani Airports reported a profit of ₹1,427 crore, versus a ₹5 crore loss a year earlier.

Adani Airports operates eight airports, including Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Thiruvananthapuram, Guwahati, and Mangalore. Passenger traffic growth was modest across both operators, with GMR Airports handling 114.6 million passengers in FY26, a 1% increase, while Adani Airports recorded 95.3 million passengers, also up 1%.

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GMR Airports expects to see a 5-6% increase in passenger traffic, including the addition of two new airports to its portfolio, Bhogapuram and Nagpur. The company has pegged capex across Bhogapuram, Nagpur, and ongoing real estate projects at Delhi at about ₹1,400 crore for the current fiscal.