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When you walk into an airport, the last thing you probably think about is who is making money from it.
For most people, an airport is simply where you check in, grab a coffee, wait for your flight and leave. But behind all of that is a surprisingly large business. India’s biggest airports are no longer entirely government run. Companies such as GMR and Adani operate some of the country’s busiest airports, and the numbers are quite big.
GMR Airports reported ₹15,201 crore in revenue and ₹6,150 crore in EBITDA in FY26. More importantly, after more than a decade of losses, it made a full year profit of ₹472 crore. Adani Airports reported ₹13,081 crore in income and ₹5,394 crore in EBITDA.
But planes are only one part of the business.
An airport makes money from landing and parking charges, passenger fees and other aviation services. Then there is everything happening inside the terminal. Restaurants, duty free shops, lounges, retail stores, advertising and parking all add to the bill.
Adani’s numbers show just how important this has become. In the first nine months of FY26, its non-aeronautical revenue was ₹4,743 crore, up 33% from the previous year. That was almost half of its total revenue during the period.
AAI has also seen this shift. It says non-traffic revenue accounted for around 10 to 15% of its revenue in the early 1990s. Today, that figure is around 20 to 30%.
This also explains why private companies are interested in running airports. The more passengers an airport gets, the more opportunities there are to earn from them beyond their flight ticket.
And India is adding plenty of those passengers and airports.
Navi Mumbai Airport started commercial operations in December 2025 and international flights in July 2026. GMR took over Nagpur Airport in June 2026 and inaugurated Bhogapuram Airport in August.
So the next time you are sitting at an airport waiting for your flight, there is a lot more happening around you than just planes coming and going.
