Adani Group eyes a new airline in India, and the plan could change what you pay for a domestic ticket. Two people with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters the ports-to-cement conglomerate is studying an entry into flying. Nothing is settled. The group runs eight airports, carries an $11 billion expansion plan, and had said earlier it wanted no part of running a carrier.
That reversal did not come from nowhere. India’s government has quietly encouraged business groups, Adani included, to look at starting an airline. Two failures drove the nudge. Air India has faced heavy safety scrutiny since last year’s Dreamliner crash that killed 260 people. IndiGo cancelled thousands of flights in December after running short of pilots, stranding passengers and forcing officials to act on a sharp rise in fares.
What an Adani airline launch would mean for fares
For passengers, the question is simple. A third large carrier gives you somewhere to go when one airline breaks down. Right now the exit is narrow. IndiGo holds 65.4 per cent of domestic traffic and Air India about 25 per cent. Regulator data for June 2026 put IndiGo’s share at a record 66.3 per cent, while the Air India group slipped to 23.9 per cent. That IndiGo market share number is the whole argument for a new entrant. An Indian aviation duopoly leaves ticket prices exposed every time one operator stumbles.
Why Adani Group eyes a new airline now
One source framed the thinking as duty rather than profit, saying the group wants to weigh it “in national interest” despite the difficulty of the business. The second source said buying a stake in an existing airline is also under review, with all options open.
A rule stands in the way. Adani has approached the government seeking to dilute a clause that restricts certain airport operators from holding stakes in scheduled airlines, the Economic Times reported. The clause dates to the 2006 privatisation of the Delhi and Mumbai airports and bars their operators from holding more than 10 per cent of a scheduled carrier. The civil aviation ministry has sought the Solicitor General’s opinion on whether the clause can be amended retrospectively, and any change would need cabinet approval. Adani holds 74 per cent of Mumbai International Airport.
Adani Airports built the ground floor first
Jeet Adani, a director at Adani Airports, told Reuters in December the group had no appetite for flying. Margins were thin, and the group lacked the “mindset” for it. Its strength, he said, lay in building “hard assets on the ground” and running them efficiently. Spending on that side has not slowed. Adani Airports said last month it would put more than $2 billion into airport-linked commercial districts across six locations, covering hotels, retail centres and office space.
The risk sitting inside the Indian aviation market
Money has been hard to keep in Indian skies. High taxes, fierce competition and supply-chain problems pushed Kingfisher, Jet Airways and Go First into bankruptcy over the last 15 years. SpiceJet is still working through financial strain. Adani is Asia’s second-richest person, with a net worth of around $89 billion, so funding is not the obstacle. History says funding alone has never been enough.
Rival carriers have a separate worry. Independent aviation analyst Brendan Sobie said airports owning airlines exist in markets such as Kyrgyzstan, Thailand and Vietnam, but a government allowing the operator of a major airport like Mumbai to hold an airline stake would be surprising. Other Indian airlines, he said, would “rightfully be concerned about a possible conflict of interest.”
Adani and the civil aviation ministry did not immediately respond to queries from Reuters. For now, any move depends on a rule change that has not happened.
