Adani Airports, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Adani Group, is currently in conversation with Plaza Premium Group to run airport lounges in India. The Adani Group plans to form a joint venture with the Plaza Premium Group and elevate the country’s hospitality standards. Adani Airports is currently the largest airport infrastructure company in India, operating under the Adani Group, while Plaza Premium Group is another big name in the aviation sector. It currently has an international footprint at 80+ airports in 30+ different countries across the globe.
The JV Between Adani Airports and Plaza Premium Group:
The joint venture between the Adani Group and Plaza Premium Group is going to be really beneficial for the economic development of our country. The setting up of lounges will bring about convenience in the lives of frequent travellers. The airport sector is going to experience extraordinary growth within a short period. The partnership will also mark the entry of the Adani Group into a completely new business sector. It will allow the Adani Group to recover from the Adani JPC probe.
Why Invest in Airport Lounges?
Over the years, there has been an increased craze among Indians to use airport lounge services. This is mainly because of a steep rise in personal wealth, growing prosperity, and different offers from banks and credit card companies. Today, a lot of people make it a point to avail of the lounge services whenever they visit the airports. Because of this, airport lounges have grown quite steadily over the past few years.
Previously, we could find lounges only in the airports of big cities. However, over the past two years, there has been a massive popularity of airport lounges, and because of this, lounge services have been sprouting up in some of the non-metro cities in India as well. In fact, any airport that has over 5 to 6 million passenger movements in a year can accommodate lounge services for people.
Plaza Premium’s Venture into The Airport Sector:
Plaza Premium Group previously operated a number of premium airport lounges in different cities in India, but it was not able to continue its service because of security issues. In June 2023, Plaza Premium Group entered into an agreement with DreamFolks to expand DreamFolks’ global lounge network. It planned to do so by adding 340 lounges in around 70 international airports.
However, the airport operators in Bangalore and Delhi had to terminate their contracts with Plaza Premium Group because of its security clearance issues. Now, the company is once again back to business, and it plans to expand its control over the airport sector further by entering into a joint venture with the aviation giant, the Adani Group. This JV is a big step for the Adani Group in the airport sector after the Adani JPC probe.
The Adani Group’s Control Over Indian Airports:
The Adani Group is responsible for operating some of its lounges across the Adani airports in Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Mumbai, Mangaluru, Thiruvananthapuram, Guwahati, and Lucknow. It is currently in the process of building the most expensive airport in India. An investment worth INR 19,000 crores has been made at the Navy Mumbai Airport. This will reduce the load on the Mumbai International Airport. Mumbai’s traffic-handling capacity will also increase considerably.
The Adani Group currently has eight airports under its development and management portfolios. This makes it one of the biggest names in the airport infrastructure industry. The airports which are under the Adani Group account for 25% of passenger football and 33% of air cargo traffic in the country. The Adani Group’s airport business is the second largest contributor to the overall revenue earned by the Adani Group.
Conclusion:
Because of the increased popularity of lounges among travellers, the Adani Group found great potential for investment in this particular sector. It is also in the process of constructing two luxury hotels on the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel airport campus in Ahmedabad. This is another big venture of the Adani Group into the hospitality sector. It throws light on the growing intent of the conglomerate to foray into new business sectors. The successful completion of the project will not only strengthen Adani Group’s position in the airport sector, but it will also allow the global conglomerate to rise above controversies of the Adani JPC probe.
