Gautam Adani-led Adani Group took over the responsibilities of the Jaipur International Airport from the Airports Authority of India (AAI). The airport has been chartered out to the group by the government of India for a period of 50 years. For the last two months, officials from the Adani group have been following up on the operations at the airport.
The Ahmedabad-based conglomerate had postponed taking over Jaipur Airport. It queried a six-month extension till December 2021, summoning force majeure due to the covid-19 pandemic. However, the government has given it three months to gain control of the management.
Jaipur airport is the 11th most hectic airport in India in daily scheduled flight operations. Positioned in the southern suburb of Sanganer, the airport was conferred international airport status on 29 December 2005. The civil apron can board 14 aircraft, and the new terminal building can handle up to 1,000 passengers at a time.
Airport director J S Balhara presented a symbolic key of the airport to Chief Airport Officer Adani Jaipur International Ltd Vishnu Jha in the presence of other officials.
The company gained control of the airport at midnight Monday.
Balhara stated that the company would work on the operations, management, and development of the Jaipur airport through PPP mode.
Recently, Adani Enterprises arm Adani Airport Holdings (AAHL) has taken over the management control of a series of airports in India, including the Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL).
"Our airport expansion strategy is intended to help converge our nation's Tier 1 cities with the Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities in a hub and spoke model. This is fundamental to enabling a greater equalization of India's urban-rural divide, as well as making international travel seamless and smooth," Gautam Adani had stated earlier. AAHL has graced as the country's most comprehensive airport operator after gaining a controlling stake in MIAL earlier this year. Adani Group has also won competitive bids to run the airports in Ahmedabad, Guwahati, Lucknow, Mangalore, and Thiruvananthapuram.
