Adani Enterprises’ airport unit lands $750 mn funding from top foreign banks

Adani Airports Holdings Ltd (AAHL), India’s largest private airport operator and a subsidiary of Adani Enterprises, has raised $750 million through external commercial borrowings from a group of international banks. The deal was led by First Abu Dhabi Bank, Barclays, and Standard Chartered Bank.

The money raised will be used to repay existing $400 million loans. The remaining amount will be used for improving infrastructure, and expand capacity at six airports — Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Mangaluru, Jaipur, Guwahati, and Thiruvananthapuram, the company said in a stock exchange notification. It will also help grow the non-aeronautical businesses, including retail, food and beverages, duty-free shops, and other services across the airport network.

Adani Enterprises' shares eroded initial losses and were trading 0.34% higher at Rs 2,480.00 as of 11:24 am on BSE Sensex.


Adani Airports Holdings handled 94 million passengers in the financial year 2024–25. The company plans to triple this capacity to 300 million passengers a year by 2040 through phased development. As part of this plan, the Navi Mumbai International Airport is expected to start operations soon. In its first phase, it will handle 20 million passengers a year, with capacity rising to 90 million annually in later phases, giving a major boost to the Mumbai region’s aviation infrastructure.

“The trust placed in us by leading global financial institutions underscores the long-term value and potential of India’s aviation infrastructure. AAHL is well on its path to deliver exceptional customer experiences, leveraging technology for seamless operations, and prioritising sustainability and community engagement across its airport network,” said Arun Bansal, CEO of AAHL.

This comes close on the heels of Adani readying to enter the business of airport ground handling while Celebi got barred. Adani Airports Holdings will set up a new company to bid for contracts at various airports, after Turkish firm Celebi Airport Services Limited exited the Indian market. Celebi lost its security clearance from the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) after Turkey backed Pakistan during a recent geopolitical conflict.

Celebi Aviation Holding, the parent of Celebi Airport Services, operated ground handling services at nine airports in India including Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru, Cochin, Hyderabad and Goa airports.

India’s ground handling policy requires that every major airport with at least one million passengers a year must have three ground handling companies, while smaller airports must have two.

The Adani Group is aiming to enter all related businesses in the airport sector, as it works to strengthen its position.