Explained: Cabinet approves leasing of three airports, what does it mean

In February, Adani group had won the bids to operate these airports for a period of 50 years after being the highest bidder for passenger fee payable to AAI. The Adani group also won the bids to operate Jaipur, Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram airports.

How much did Adani group bid for these three airports?

For the Ahmedabad airport, Adani bid Rs 177 per passenger while the second highest bidder put a bid of Rs 146. Similarly, for the Lucknow airport, Adani bid Rs 171, while the second highest bidder put a bid of Rs 139. For the Mangaluru airport, the difference was even higher as Adani’s highest bid was Rs 115 followed by a bid of Rs 45.

Does this mean higher outgo for passengers taking flights from these airports?

The passenger service fee is fixed by the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority and the bids are what the concessionaire will pay to AAI of the service fee collected.