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DOI: https://doi.org/10.63345/ijrmp.v14.i11.6
Dr. Pooja Yadav
Research Supervisor
Department of Commerce
Apex University
Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
Lalit Kumar Sharma
Research Scholar
Department of Commerce
Apex University
Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
Abstract— Airports in India have historically depended on aeronautical charges — landing, parking, and passenger service fees — as their primary source of revenue. However, the volatility of aeronautical income, regulatory constraints on tariff-setting, and rising capital expenditure requirements have pushed airport operators toward diversifying revenue through non-aeronautical streams such as retail, duty-free, real estate, advertising, and cargo services. This paper examines the revenue structure of Indian airports, reviews existing literature on non-aeronautical revenue generation and privatization, and analyzes the strategies adopted by major Indian airports to achieve financial sustainability. The study finds that while non-aeronautical revenue has grown substantially since the introduction of the public-private partnership (PPP) model, Indian airports still lag behind global counterparts in per-passenger commercial yield. The paper concludes with policy recommendations for enhancing revenue diversification across metro, tier-II, and tier-III airports.
Keywords— Revenue Diversification; Financial Sustainability; Indian Airports; Non-Aeronautical Revenue; Airport Privatization
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