The Chennai international airport incurred the highest loss of Rs 189.85 crore followed by Dehradun (loss of Rs 98.02 crore) and Agartala airports (Rs 80.67 crore).
In his reply, Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation VK Singh said in the Rajya Sabha , that the losses incurred were mainly due to low revenue generation. This hindered airports from meeting the total expenditure, including maintenance cost of the respective airports. “The COVID-19 pandemic has also adversely impacted the revenue of airports during FY 2020-21 and FY 2021-22,” he said.
The minister also added that the AAI has been taking steps to make these airports profitable “by enhancement of non-aeronautical revenue by award of contracts through Master Concessionaires, optimum utilization of commercial space for revenue enhancement, city side development, Revenue Share Model for select commercial contracts and utility cost optimization like LED replacement, Solar panel installation etc. AAI has also taken steps to enhance aeronautical revenue in the form of increase in airport charges at non-major airports.”
